Public Attitude and Social Support towards People Living With Epilepsy (PWE) Amongst Communities, In a Selected Local Government of Oyo State, Nigeria (Published)
Introduction – The reaction to epilepsy is shaped by traditional indigenous beliefs. Therefore this study assessed the societal attitude and social support towards people living with Epilepsy in Ogbomoso. Methodology- The study adopted cross sectional descriptive design using 410 respondents selected through multistage sampling technique. Information was collected from the respondents using standardized instrument of Interviewer Administered Questionnaire (IAQ), Attitudinal Scale and Social Support Scale. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance. Results – In terms of attitude, 273 (68%) of respondents strongly agreed that PWE would be a burden to the family, 251 (62%) expressed fear during seizures, 215 (53.8%) were of the opinion that PWE should not get manned: 258 (64.5%) would not definitely help someone with seizure, 258 (64.5%) would not stay in the room with person with epilepsy. There was a significant association between respondent area of residence and their attitude (X2 = 16.320, P = 0.012). Conclusion – It was concluded that there was a misconception about epilepsy resulting in negative attitude and poor social support towards People Living with Epilepsy.
Keywords: Oyo State, People Living with Epilepsy (PWE), Public Attitude, Selected Local Government, Social Support