Teachers' opinions about capabilities and behavior of children with epilepsy.

Full Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate primary school teachers' opinions or knowledge about children with epilepsy. Two hundred and sixteen teachers were involved. The results reveal that teachers do not have an accurate conception of the capabilities of children with epilepsy and that those beliefs differ from teacher to teacher. Nearly half of the teachers believe that children with epilepsy differ from healthy children in their behavior. The majority of teachers (60%) receive information on the child's disease not from the parents, but from other sources. One-third of teachers do not feel confident in their work in children with epilepsy. A great majority (91.2%) of teachers desire additional information and education about epilepsy. Primary school teachers who work with children with epilepsy have inconsistent knowledge of the capabilities and behavior of, and an inadequate way of working with, children with epilepsy. Therefore, they are eager to get more information on epilepsy. It is the duty of the medical team to offer teachers the necessary information, so that the approach to work with, and life quality of children with epilepsy can be improved. Our results are concordant with similar studies performed in various countries within the last 30 years. It is proved that epilepsy as a disease has a very similar social effect on the affected person with no regard for cultural or social background, implying that the stigma of epilepsy is still a very powerful factor in the formation of general opinions about the disease.

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Author information

Author/s: Prpic, I (I); Korotaj, Z (Z); Vlasic-Cicvaric, I (I); Paucic-Kirincic, E (E); Valerjev, A (A); Tomac, V (V);

Affiliation: Department of Paediatrics "Kantrida," University Hospital Centre, Istarska 43, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia. igorp(-atsign-)medri.hr

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Epilepsy & behavior : E&B (Epilepsy Behav), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Apr; vol 4 (issue 2) : pp 142-5

Dates: Created 2003/04/16; Completed 2003/07/03; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12697138, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Aptitude
Attitude to Health
Child
Child Behavior - psychology

Culture
Epilepsy - psychology
Humans
Stereotyping
Teaching

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