Parental awareness on anti-epileptic treatment

Objective To assess awareness on anti-epileptic
therapy among parents of epileptic children.

Setting Epilepsy clinic, University Paediatric Unit,
Colombo South Teaching Hospital.

Study population All patients registered in clinic,
followed up for at least 3 months.

Method An interviewer administered questionnaire
was used covering 16 aspects of anti-epileptic
therapy. Responses for each aspect were graded as
excellent (70% or >), good (50-69%) or poor (less than 50%).

Results Parents of 58 children were interviewed.
100% parents had been advised on general aspects of
epilepsy and 92% on principles of anti-epileptic drug
(AED) therapy. In 93% this knowledge had been
imparted to parents by a medical officer. In 96% this
advice had been given at onset of treatment and in
64% it had been reinforced subsequently. A 'good' or
'excellent' response was obtained in 11 aspects of
AED therapy whilst a 'poor' response was obtained in
the remaining 5 aspects.

Conclusions Parental awareness of certain aspects of
AED therapy needs to be improved.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2003; 32: 69-70

(Key words: Parental awareness, anti-epileptic therapy, epilepsy, children)

doi: 10.4038/sljch.v32i3.706