Rationale:
We assessed public knowledge of and attitudes toward people with epilepsy in the Croatian population. We also aimed to identify independent predictors of negative attitudes.
Methods:
We performed a survey consisting of a representative sample of 1500 adults. The population tested were 18 years or older, living in a private households. Croatia is a country of 5.5 million inhabitants with a socioeconomic and ethnic profile similar to neighboring Middle European countries. Within the sample, the respondents were selected according to the random route method that guaranteed a representative sample concerning households. The survey consisted of questions intended to determine the respondents' socioeconomic background and education, acquaintance with persons with epilepsy and knowledge and attitudes towards them. Urban and rural population was tested living in the places of less than 2.000 to more than 100.000 inhabitants. This survey consisted of 14 questions, tailored to the ones used in earlier studies of public knowledge towards people with epilepsy in other countries. Logistic regression analysis was used to test for independent predictors of negative attitudes. All data were stored and analyzed in the SPSS database.
Results:
We surveyed a representative sample of Croatian population aged between 18–94 years. Majority were females (55.3%), living in urban setting (61.3%) with high school or higher degree (78.6%). Majority of the respondents worked for a public or private company (37.5%), and 34% were retired. The results show that 91% of respondents have heard about epilepsy, 57% of them know a person with epilepsy and 55% have witnessed a seizure. 48% believed that people with epilepsy are treated differently in the society. Majority of them presume that epilepsy is a mental illness (41%), 29% that people with epilepsy should have a lower quality job, 17% do not want that their son/ daughter live with person with epilepsy, 17% think that people with epilepsy should not have children, and 12% that they should attend special schools. 87% of respondents without any regular education assume that people with epilepsy should have a lower quality job, however, this is still high belief in the people having a university degree (25%). Consistent independent predictors for all attitudes were a positive response to the question whether one has heard or read about epilepsy, the misconception of epilepsy as a form of mental illness and an infectious disorder. Employment and knowing someone with epilepsy were independent predictors for four out of five tested attitudes.
Conclusion:
This is the first study assessing public knowledge of and attitudes toward people with epilepsy in the Croatian population. We showed that public knowledge of epilepsy is similar to other countries, and we defined predictors for negative attitudes. Future educational campaigns on epilepsy should improve attitudes toward epilepsy mainly by targeting misconceptions about epilepsy and by offering opportunities for personal acquaintance with people with epilepsy.
