Introduction: Epilepsy is very prevalent in our society, but unfortunately lack of knowledge is still very common, contributing to psycho-social difficulties to people with epilepsy. Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the epilepsy' perception and attitudes by professionals of emergency medical service in Campinas, Brazil. Material and methods: This study was carried out with professionals of SAMU-192, who participated on the VII Stroke Workshop of Campinas in November 2007. Results: One hundred-forty nine (149) professionals answered the questionnaire (49% women, average age of 37 years, range from 21 to 59 year). Ninety (60%) were professionals allied to medicine (nurses, health auxiliary, dentists), six (4%) were physicians and 53 (36%) were other professions (secretary, driver). In overall, a great majority of the subjects had an appropriate knowledge regarding epilepsy. But, some beliefs are still present. In relation to epilepsy' perception, some wrong ideas appeared, as epilepsy is a contagious disease, people with epilepsy can not practice physical exercise or to work. Also, the doubts regarding pregnancy and treatment of epilepsy were observed. Regarding attitudes during an epileptic seizure, some inadequate attitudes appeared: to put something in patient's mouth, to restrict the patients' movements or give something strong to smell (alcohol or vinegar) in order to stop the seizure. Conclusion: In this context, it is necessary a continuous education programs to the allied health professionals to improve the perception and attitudes, bringing epilepsy out of the shadows.153119122Fernandes, P.T., Li, L.M., (2005) Estigma na Epilepsia Departamento de Neurologia, , FCM/UNICAMP;Fernandes, P.T., Salgado, P.C., Noronha, A.L.A., de Boer, H.M., Prilipko, L., Sander, J.W., Epilepsy stigma perception in an urban area of a limited resource country (2007) Epilepsy Behav, 11 (1), pp. 25-32Guerreiro, C.A., Guerreiro, M.M., Cendes, F., Lopes-Cendes, I., (2000) Considerações gerais, pp. 1-10. , Lemos Editorial. Epilepsia. 3rd edLi, L.M., Sander, J.W., National demonstration project on epilepsy in Brazil] (2003) Arq Neuropsiquiatr, 61 (1), pp. 153-156. , Mar;Marchetti, R.L., de Castro, A.P., Daltio, C.S., Cremonese, E., Ramos, J.M., Neto, J.G., Attitudes of Brazilian psychiatrists toward people with epilepsy (2004) Epilepsy Behav, 5 (6), pp. 999-1004. , Dec;Marchetti, R.L., Epilepsy in the shadow of Brazilian psychiatry] (2004) Rev Bras Psiquiatr, 26 (1), pp. 67-68. , Mar;Jacoby, A., Chadwick, D., Psychosocial problems in epilepsy (1992) BMJ, 305 (6845), p. 117. , July;Jacoby, A., Gorry, J., Gamble, C., Baker, G.A., Public knowledge, private grief: A study of public attitudes to epilepsy in the United Kingdom and implications for stigma (2004) Epilepsia, 45 (11), pp. 1405-1415. , Nov;Baker, G., The Psychosocial Burden of Epilepsy (2002) Epilepsia, 43 (SUPPL. 6), pp. 26-30Austin, J.K., Shafer, P.O., Deering, J.B., Epilepsy familiarity, know-ledge, and perceptions of stigma: Report from a survey of adolescents in the general population (2002) Epilepsy Behav, 3 (4), pp. 368-375. , Aug;Suurmeijer, T.P., Reuvekamp, M.F., Aldenkamp, B.P., Social functioning, psychological functioning, and quality of life in epilepsy (2001) Epilepsia, 42 (9), pp. 1160-1168. , Sept;Fernandes, P.T., Li, L.M., Percepção de estigma na epilepsia. (2006) Journal of Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology, 12 (4), pp. 207-218Jacoby, A., Impact of epilepsy on employment status: Findings from a UK study of people with well-controlled epilepsy (1995) Epilepsy Res, 21 (2), pp. 125-132. , June;Fernandes, P.T., Noronha, A.L., Sander, J.W., Bell, G.S., Li, L.M., Training the trainers and disseminating information: A strategy to educate health professionals on epilepsy (2007) Arq Neuropsiquiatr, 65 (SUPL 1), pp. 14-22Noronha, A.L., Fernandes, P.T., Andrade, M.G.G., Santiago, S.M., Sander, J.W., Li, L.M., Training medical students to improve the management of people with epilepsy (2007) Arq Neuropsiquiatr, 65 (SUPL 1), pp. 23-27Fernandes, P.T., Salgado, P.C., Noronha, A.L.A., Barbosa, F.D., Souza, E.A., Li, L.M., Stigma Scale of Epilepsy: Conceptual issues (2004) Journal of Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology, 10 (4), pp. 213-218Reno, B.A., Fernandes, P.T., Bell, G.S., Sander, J.W., Li, L.M., Stigma and attitudes on epilepsy: A study with secondary school students (2007) Arq Neuropsiquiatr, 65 (SUPL 1), pp. 49-5
