Knowledge, attitude and practice towards epilepsy among secondary school students in Enugu, South East Nigeria

AbstractPurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitude of secondary school students to epilepsy and its treatment that could pose as barriers in the treatment and care of epilepsy patients within the community.MethodsThis study was cross-sectional and descriptive in design using a self administered custom designed multiple choice questionnaire with sections on general information on epilepsy, awareness and perception of epilepsy, treatment of epilepsy/seizures and attitude towards people living with epilepsy.ResultsOut of 969 questionnaires analyzed, the majority of the students (87.6%) had heard of epilepsy as a disease. The commonest sources of information were the electronic media (36.4%) and family members (25.6%). More than half (59.4%) had witnessed a convulsion in the past and 8.9% had a family member with epilepsy. Jerking (50.6%) and loss of consciousness (47.4%) were identified as the commonest manifestations of epilepsy. Epilepsy was considered a psychiatric disorder by 51.9% and as an infectious disease by 40.6%. About 39.3% considered epilepsy to be due to spiritual causes, old age or poisoning/bad blood. A total of 63.1% regarded orthodox medicine and prayers as the best means to treat epilepsy, while 6.8% chose herbal remedies. Concerning first aid treatment, 50.6% agreed that an object should be inserted into the mouth, while 49.5% would call for medical help and 28.8% would remove the person from harm. On attitude, 64.9% would not keep a friend with epilepsy, 69.1% would not play with someone with epilepsy, 84.2% would not marry someone with epilepsy. 41.1% of the students said that people with epilepsy should neither marry while 42.2% say they should not have children. Only 39.1.5% had an overall positive attitude towards people living with epilepsy.ConclusionsThere is a persisting poor knowledge, attitude and practice of epilepsy among secondary school students in SE Nigeria. Efforts should be made to include basic facts about disorders with social consequences such as epilepsy in school health education curriculum

Sex Behaviour Change in Response to the HIV/AIDS Threat among University Students in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State

Objective:To assess the sexual behaviour change of unmarried students of Ebonyi State University (EBSU) Abakaliki, in response to the HIV/AIDSepidemic. Setting: Nigerian undergraduate students belong to theage group that is sexually active, and prior studies have documented an appreciable knowledge of the HIV pandemic among them. Hetero-sexual intercourse remains the commonest route of HIV/AIDStransmission. Design: A cross sectional descriptive survey of selfreported sexual behaviour changes of students of EBSU. Result: There was a high level (95.9%) of awareness of HIV/AIDS, andmore than 94%knowledge of the various routes of its transmission. About one third (31.9%) had misconception that deep kissing did not transmit HIB, and another 7.5%believed that causal contact such as shaking hands transmits the virus. Generally, 66.7% reported adopting various sex behaviour changes. Specific behaviour changes include avoidance of premarital sex(34.7%), consistent use of condoms (13.6%), faithfulness to one partner (11.1%), reduction of the number of sex partners (2.5%), and various combinations of these (41.3%). Awareness of HIV/AIDS and age weresignificant factors in these behavioural changes. Conclusion: A high proportion of the students in this study reported having changed their sex behaviour in response to theHIV/AIDS epidemic. It is noteworthy thatmore people reported avoidance of premarital sex as their preferred sexual behaviour change.Key words: Sex behaviour; Change; HIV/AIDS; Students;Ebonyi State University Abakaliki