Perception of, attitudes toward, and knowledge of epilepsy among teachers and high school and college students in Sicily

The study was aimed at investigating perception of, attitudes toward, and knowledge of epilepsy among college students of the University of Messina in Sicily (Italy), high school students, and teachers from Sicily in order to structure health educational programs to remediate inadequate knowledge and stigma about epilepsy.Participants in this study consisted of 932 subjects (571 males, 361 females) aged between 13 and 63 years old (M 21.75 +/- 8.7): 571 college students aged between 18 and 35 years old (M 21.54 +/- 2.59), 62 teachers aged between 38 and 63 years old (M 51.18 +/- 6.27), and 299 high school students aged between 13 and 19 years old (M 16.05 +/- 1.67).Measures were two anonymous questionnaires to collect sociodemographic information and to assess knowledge of, attitudes toward, and perception of epilepsy. Analyses were performed with descriptive statistical analysis (mean, standard deviation, frequency counts, and percentages) and Mann-Whitney U-test nonparametric for two independent samples.This study provides general information about psychosocial aspects of epilepsy in Sicily which provides the basis for further studies and the development of interventions to eliminate prejudices against persons with epilepsy and related myths.