EXPLORATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES AMONG PEDIATRIC NURSES TOWARDS EPILEPTIC CHILDREN MANAGEMENT IN A TERTIARY CARE SETUP OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN

Background: There is only a limited study available among pediatrics nurses regarding knowledge and practices towards epileptic children in South Asian population. Standard of knowledge of nurses’ play a vital role in providing optimum nursing care for epileptic children and disease education to their parents. Objectives: To assess the level of knowledge and practice (KP) of pediatrics nurses regarding epileptic children management at a tertiary care setup of Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: It is a cross-sectional study that was conducted during the period from June to September 2020 at inpatient pediatrics department of The Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health Lahore, Pakistan. Convenience sampling technique was used to select all nurses (50) working and providing direct nursing care for epileptic children in in-patient pediatrics department of The Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health Lahore, Pakistan regardless of their age, qualification or religion. The study was based on a pretested, semi structured questionnaire including the demographic data and occupational characteristics, knowledge and practice (KP) concerning epileptic children management. Results: Most of the included nurses (96.0%) rated epilepsy as a noncontagious disease. Concerning causes of epilepsy, the percentages of correct answers in descending order were brain hemorrhage 88%, meningitis 82%, brain tumors 76%, head injury 72%, not known cause 70%, 66% birth defects.’’ Majority of the studied nurses (72%) stated that epilepsy occur in all age stages and a large percent (74%) of them knew the treatment duration of 1-3 years. The total knowledge score of most of the nurse was adequate among 94.0%. Regarding practice score was satisfactory among most of the included nurses (92.0%). Conclusion and Recommendations: The study revealed an adequate level of knowledge, significant level of awareness for the nursing care, and satisfactory practice regarding management of acute attack of epilepsy. However there is a still a need to titrate the prevailing norms with the latest knowledge and guidelines about epilepsy to the nursing staff. Comprehensive future health educational initiatives are the need of the hour to ensure evidence based treatment regimens and management protocols to all health care professionals. Keywords: Knowledge, practice, Epilepsy, nurses