[Socio-cultural aspects of epilepsy in a rural community in northern Benin in 2011].

Abstract : Despite the development of knowledge in diagnosis and therapeutic of epilepsy it remains to be cause of rejection and stigma. We aimed to study the knowledge, attitude and practice toward epilepsy and the stigma in a rural community. The cross-sectional study was carried out from 1st to 31st March 2011 in a rural community (Tourou) at Parakou in the northern Benin. It was a door-to-door survey and included 1 031 adults older than 15 years. The diagnosis of epilepsy was based on International League Against Epilepsy. The specific questionnaire was used and comprised 16 items which explored knowledge, attitude and practice toward epilepsy. Another questionnaire was developed to study stigma among epileptics. The associated factors to the misconception toward epilepsy have been studied. All adults have heard about epilepsy and knew the generalized tonic-clonic form of epilepsy and knew someone with epilepsy. Hereditary (98%) and witchcraft (97.9%) and social problems (65.9%) were mentioned as the most cause of epilepsy. Epilepsy was cited as contagious disease by 90.6% of respondents and the associated factors were the sex (p=0.005) and occupational status (0.024). The saliva (98.1%) and witness of the place of seizure (97.8%) were the frequently mentioned modes of transmission. 65% of all mentioned that epileptics can not get marriage and the main associated factors to this belief were the advanced age (p=0.008) and occupational status (0.004). 64.4% believed that children with epilepsy shouldn't be attend to school, age (0.004), ethnicity (0.047) and occupational status were the associated factors with this misconception. Despite 99.4% considered epilepsy as treatable disease only 12.7% would have referred epileptics to the hospital. All the seven epileptics considered themselves as victims of stigma and rejected by their family and the community. The misconceptions associated to the epilepsy can explain the stigma and the therapeutic gap in this rural community.