Knowledge, attitude, practice, and self-efficacy of caregivers of children with epilepsy: impact of a structured educational intervention program

Abstract

Background: The parental role is crucial in the management of children with epilepsy before, during, and after the seizures. It is crucial to ascertain the sufficient knowledge, attitude, and proper practice of the caregivers about epilepsy; however, caregivers with high self-efficacy are more able to achieve caregiving tasks of epilepsy children at the best level.

Purpose: To assess the effect of an educational intervention on the knowledge, attitude, reported practice and self-efficacy of caregivers of children with epilepsy.

Methods: A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used to carry out the study, in which a convenient sample of 60 caregivers for epilepsy children was chosen from the outpatient clinics of Al-Ahrar Zagazig Teaching Hospital. The candidates were asked to fill up a questionnaire as a pretest, and then were exposed to a tailored educational intervention about epilepsy before being reassessed again using the same questionnaire.

Results: Most of caregivers were married females, and mainly mothers. Although caregivers generally had low level of knowledge, attitudes, reported practices, and self-efficacy about epilepsy before the educational intervention, they improved significantly after the educational intervention. The educational program was a significant independent positive predictor of caregivers' scores of knowledge, attitudes, practice and self-efficacy.

Discussion: The study findings demonstrate significant improvements in the knowledge, attitude, and reported practice as well as the self-efficacy scores of caregivers of children with epilepsy following the implementation of the educational intervention, which reflects the importance of providing educational intervention to improve the knowledge, attitude, practice, and self-efficacy of epilepsy children caregivers.