Familiarity with and attitudes towards epilepsy among teachers at Czech elementary schools--the effect of personal experience and subspecialization

This study was intended to study the effect of personal experience and subspecialization on the knowledge of epilepsy of teachers at Czech elementary schools, and on their attitudes towards children with epilepsy and on epilepsy itself in general. 193 teachers from 10 different elementary schools in Pilsen, Czech Republic, were involved in the study. We found that teachers with personal experience of epilepsy had greater knowledge of the illness. There were significant differences (P<0.05) between the attitudes of teachers with and without personal experience, mostly in terms of their views on the self-realization and the integration of children with epilepsy into the school collective. In contrast, no differences were found in their views of the intellectual capabilities of children with epilepsy or the overall quality of life of children with epilepsy. Furthermore, we found that subspecialization, aside from a few exceptions given by the specific position of first grade teachers, did not have major effect on teachers' knowledge of epilepsy and their attitudes towards children with epilepsy. The results suggest that it would be appropriate to focus educational interventions about epilepsy for teachers on those individuals who do not have any experience of epilepsy.     

Improving the knowledge of epilepsy and reducing epilepsy-related stigma among children using educational video and educational drama—A comparison of the effectiveness of both interventions

PurposeThis study was intended to compare the effectiveness of educational animated video and educational drama in improving the knowledge of epilepsy and reducing epilepsy-related stigma among children aged 9–11 years.MethodThe first group of children involved in the study (n₁ = 762) watched a video and then completed a questionnaire on epilepsy. The second group (n₂ = 400) completed the questionnaire after participating in a drama. Both groups were retested 6 months later by the same questionnaire, which was also completed by a control group (n₃ = 180) not subjected to intervention.ResultsBoth groups subjected to intervention achieved significantly higher scores (P < 0.001) than the control group on knowledge of epilepsy and on attitudes towards children with the disease. Educational video was more effective than drama in improving knowledge of epilepsy. On the other hand, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between the two kinds of intervention regarding attitudes towards children with this disease.ConclusionThe results suggest that both interventions could be used to reduce epilepsy-related stigma in this age group.     

Sensitisation to outdoor and indoor fungi in atopic dermatitis patients and the relation to the occurrence of food allergy to peanuts and walnuts

The aim of this study is the evaluation of the relation between the sensitisation to outdoor and indoor fungi and allergy to peanuts and walnuts in atopic dermatitis patients aged 14 years and older. The complete dermatological and allergological examinations were performed in all included patients; the occurrence of food allergy to peanuts and walnuts was recorded (specific IgE, skin prick test, history of allergic reaction) and the sensitisation to mixture of outdoor fungi and indoor fungi was also examined (skin prick test, specific IgE). The statistical evaluation of the relation between the sensitisation to outdoor and indoor fungi and the occurrence of food allergy to peanuts and walnuts was performed; 329 patients were included in the study, 110 men and 219 women, the average age 26.8 years. The sensitisation to outdoor fungi was recorded in 91 patients (28%), the sensitisation to indoor fungi was recorded in 61 patients (18.5%), the occurrence of food allergy to peanuts was confirmed in 90 (27%) patients and to walnuts in 121 (36.7%) patients. We confirmed, that patients suffering from sensitisation to outdoor fungi suffer significantly more from food allergy to peanuts and walnuts. The significant relation between the sensitisation to indoor fungi and food allergy to peanuts and walnuts was not confirmed.