Abstract
Background: There is a lack of knowledge about epilepsy among the students and the population in general, with consequent prejudice and discrimination toward epileptic patients. Objectives: Knowledge, behavior, attitude and myth toward epilepsy among urban school children in Bareilly district was studied. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among students of 10 randomly selected secondary schools of the urban areas in Bareilly district. A structured, pretested questionnaire was used to collect data regarding sociodemographic characteristics and assess the subjects knowledge, behavior, attitude and myth toward epilepsy. Results: Of the 798 students (533 boys and 265 girls) studied, around 98.6 had heard of epilepsy. About 63.7 correctly thought that epilepsy is a brain disorder while 81.8 believed it to be a psychiatric disorder. Other prevalent misconceptions were that epilepsy is an inherited disorder (71.55) and that the disease is transmitted by eating a nonvegetarian diet (49). Most of them thought that epilepsy can be cured (69.3) and that an epileptic patient needs lifelong treatment (77.2). On witnessing a seizure, about 51.5 of the students would take the person to the hospital. Majority (72.31) of the students thought that children with epilepsy should study in a special school. Conclusions: Although majority of the students had reasonable knowledge of epilepsy, myths and superstitions about the condition still prevail in a significant proportion of the urban school children. It may be worthwhile including awareness programs about epilepsy in school education to dispel misconceptions about epilepsy.