Knowledge about epilepsy among health professionals: a cross-sectional survey in São Paulo, Brazil

• Published in: BMJ open 2012-01, Vol.2 (2), p.e000919-e000919
• Main Authors: Vancini, Rodrigo Luiz, Benedito-Silva, Ana Amélia, Sousa, Bolivar Saldanha, Gomes da Silva, Sergio, Souza-Vancini, Maria Iones, Vancini-Campanharo, Cássia Regina, Cabral, Francisco Romero, de Lima, Cristiano, Barbosa de Lira, Claudio Andre
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; Convulsions & seizures; Epilepsy; Knowledge; Medical Education and Training; Medical personnel; Medicine; Nurses; Nursing; Nutrition; Nutritionists; Physical education; Physical therapy; Physicians; Professionals; Professions; Psychology; Questionnaires; Socioeconomic factors; Variance analysis
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-000919

ObjectiveTo evaluate the epilepsy knowledge among health professionals in São Paulo, Brazil.DesignThis is a cross-sectional study.ParticipantsProfessionals with academic degrees in physical education (n=134), nutrition (n=116), medicine (n=100), psychology (n=53), nursing (n=122) and physiotherapy (n=99) who lived in São Paulo City, Brazil.Primary and secondary outcome measuresKnowledge of health professionals about epilepsy.MethodsProfessionals with academic degrees in physical education (n=134), nutrition (n=116), medicine (n=100), psychology (n=53), nursing (n=122) and physiotherapy (n=99) who lived in São Paulo City, Brazil, were invited to participate in the study. The subjects (n=624) answered a questionnaire composed of 25 simple closed-ended questions from three areas: personal, educational and knowledge.ResultsOut of all subjects, 88.5% (n=552) had a postgraduate education, while 11.5% (n=72) had only an undergraduate degree. The authors found that physical educators, nutritionists and physiotherapists received lower scores on their epilepsy knowledge than other health professionals.ConclusionsHealth professionals are considered better-educated group inside the society, especially with regards to healthcare issues. Thus, it is important they also have an accurate and correct knowledge about epilepsy. The findings of the present study indicate an imperative improvement in education about epilepsy, as well as an inclusion of formal programmes for epilepsy education especially for non-medical professionals. An improvement in epilepsy education might contribute to an improvement in epilepsy care and management.