Improving public stigma, sociocultural beliefs, and social identity for people with epilepsy in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia.

Autor:	Abdel Ghaffar NF; Neurology Department, Kasr Al Ainy Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.; Neurology Department, Aseer Central Hospital, Abha 62523, Saudi Arabia., Asiri RN; College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia., Al-Eitan LN; Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan.; Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan., Alamri RS; Department of Neurology, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh 14815, Saudi Arabia., Alshyarba RM; College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia., Alrefeidi FA; College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia., Asiri A; Department of Child Health, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia., Alghamdi MA; Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia.; Genomics and Personalized Medicine Unit, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Epilepsy & behavior reports [Epilepsy Behav Rep] 2021 Apr 09; Vol. 16, pp. 100442. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Apr 09 (Print Publication: 2021).
DOI:	10.1016/j.ebr.2021.100442
Abstrakt:	Differences in the sociocultural practice and biases against people with epilepsy (PWE) largely contribute to the development of stigmatization. In this study, we evaluated factors that impact stigma for PWE involved in evolution and maintenance to report changes in the public awareness and cultural practices. We performed a cross-sectional study in which data were collected from a self-administered electronic survey composed of 33 items targeting the population in the Aseer region. Feedback response was obtained from 937 respondents. Of these, 921 participants (98.3%) had heard or read about the disorder previously. Approximately 84.8% believed that epilepsy was one of the brain disorders. 95.8% disagreed that epilepsy was due to a contagious disease. However, 40.1% of the responders were convinced that it was the result of a spiritual reason. Still, more than 9% believed treating PWE should be approached spiritually. About 75% felt that epilepsy could be the results of a test delievered by God. In addition to the clinical impact from seizures in PWE, it carries a social label and public stigma that influences one's social prognosis. Raising awareness through campaigns would improve the knowledge and practices of the population and hence provide a healthier environment for PWE, alleviating feelings of stigma, and improving their quality of life. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. (© 2021 The Author(s).)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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