KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICE OF EPILEPSY - EXPERIENCE AT A COMPREHENSIVE RURAL HEALTH-SERVICES PROJECT

Beliefs regarding cause and preference of the treatment modality are i mportant factors influencing any epilepsy programme. Patients own atti tudes towards the on-going treatment are equally important in ensuring success of any such programme. The study involved interviews of 80 pa tients with epilepsy attending a comprehensive rural health services p roject, and was conducted according to a structured questionnaire. The majority of the patients were well informed regarding the cause of ep ilepsy, but more than half had tried alternative treatment methods. Ma ny patients had misconceptions regarding the goal of the treatment and the consequences of missing a prescribed drug dose. Surprisingly few patients avoided taking medicines on days of religious fast. It was al so noted that most patients depended on free medical supplies from the clinic dispensary, and a small number of patients would stop the medi cines if these were not given free of cost. We stress the need to unde rstand patients' concepts about the cause and the treatment of epileps y, the need to educate them and their families regarding principles of modem medical treatment of epilepsy and most importantly, the need to maintain a regular, uninterrupted supply of free medicines, to improv e the effectiveness of similar epilepsy management programmes in the s etting of rural India and other developing countries.