Awareness, attitudes and perceptions on epilepsy in Southern Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Falavigna,Asdrubal
• Data de Publicação: 2007
• Outros Autores: Teles,Alisson Roberto, Roth,Felipe, Velho,Maíra Cristina, Roxo,Marcelo Ricardo Rosa, Dal Bosco,Alexandre Luiz, Silva,Roberta Castilhos da, Carrer,Tatiane, Medina,Miguel Francisco de Lessa, Salvati,Gustavo, Dahmer,Cleiton, Basso,Maira, Vedana,Viviane Maria, Mazzocchin,Thaís, Mosena,Gabriela, Ribeiro,Ricardo Gil, Siqueira,Tiago Adami
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2007000700018
• topic: epilepsy; knowledge; attitudes; questionnaire; Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To verify awareness and attitudes toward epilepsy in Southern Brazil. METHOD: A questionnaire about familiarity with the disease, awareness and attitudes toward epileptics was applied to 832 inhabitants of Caxias do Sul. The answers were analyzed in three different groups: G1, non-university students; G2, university students up to the second year; and G3, university students with more than two years education and university graduates. RESULTS: University students and graduates are better informed regarding causes and treatment of epilepsy. Moreover, those interviewees present less negative attitudes toward epileptics. However, a large part of that group lacks some basic information on the disease. CONCLUSION: There is lack of information on epilepsy among Brazilians. Education campaigns should be carried out in order to clarify some aspects concerning epilepsy.