KNOWLEDGE AND OPINIONS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN ABOUT EPILEPSY

Epilepsy is one of the earliest diseases of the mankind, and is referred to as paroxysmal and transitory disturbance of brain function that is developing rapidly and has a tendency to recur. The aim of the paper was to determine the knowledge and attitudes of students in the eighth grade related to epilepsy. The study was conducted in March-April 2010. The survey comprised 193 eighth-grade students of both sexes. The study included children from the City of Novi Sad and two suburbs of the four elementary schools: "Ivo Lola Ribar" and "Attila Jožeg" from Novi Sad, "Đura Jakšić" from Kać and "Jovan Dučić" from Petrovaradin. The majority of students (98.4%) had the knowledge about epilepsy. Half of the respondents had heard of it on television and one quarter from parents or in school. As a trigger of epileptic attacks, students usually mention insomnia (47.1%) and food deficiency (19.5%). The most typical symptoms students described were foaming at the mouth, sudden loss of consciousness and convulsions. For most students (84.4%), epilepsy is considered an organic disease; one-third of respondents (34.4%) considered epilepsy curable disease. The results indicate that students have the basic eighth-grade level of knowledge about epilepsy, including the fact that most of them (71.1%) believe that a child with epilepsy can play and socialize with their peers