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Abstract Details

Childhood Seizures: Knowledge and Attitudes of Caregivers in a Rural Nigerian Community
Child Neurology and Developmental Neurology
S38 - Child Neurology and Developmental Neurology: Acquired Brain Injury: Brain-Behavior Relationships (2:36 PM-2:48 PM)
009
To investigate the knowledge and attitudes of caregivers in a rural community in Enugu Nigeria, towards recurrent seizures in children.
The prevalence of childhood seizures is high in Nigeria, ranging from 7.5 per thousand to 14 per thousand depending on the etiology. Caregivers’ knowledge and attitude to it would determine if, and the level of care the child would access, and the eventual outcome of the child.
This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of 205 caregivers of children in Agbani, south east Nigeria in September 2018. The study tool was a semi-structured validated interviewer or self-administered (for literate participants) questionnaire. Data was analyzed and results reported.
 

Majority (168, 82%) had witnessed convulsion in a child. None knew there could be seizures without muscular contractions. The causes of seizures in children include fever (187, 91%), witchcraft/evil spirit attack (92,45%) hunger (31, 15%) hereditary causes (29, 14%).

participants responses to a seizure include take to a health facility (140, 66.8%), give local concoction/mixtures (55, 27%), palm oil (20, 9.8%), mothers urine (6, 2.9%) ,onions in the eyes(9, 4.4%), soak child in water(98, 47.8%), prayer (55, 27%).

Some (45, 22%) believed seizures are contagious and seizures involving one part of the body signify a worse disease 67(33%).

Children with recurrent seizures were believed to have poor school performance (152, 74%). The participants (162, 79%) would not allow their children marry someone with a history of childhood seizures.

Majority (135, 66%) believed longer lasting seizures signify a more severe disease and this was the only response that correlated significantly with educational status of the study participants.
Majority of the study participants knew fever as a cause of recurrent childhood seizures but still engage in dangerous interventions following an episode.  There is also stigmatization of persons with a history of seizures.
Authors/Disclosures

PRESENTER
No disclosure on file