Evaluating the effect of an educational comic book on the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding epilepsy among public schoolchildren in Mauritius

Abstract

Purpose

Epilepsy affects 70 million people globally, with over 80 % living in low- and middle-income countries. In Mauritius, treatment barriers include a lack of knowledge and stigma, particularly among children. We aim to assess the effect of reading an educational comic on the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding epilepsy among schoolchildren in Mauritius.

Methods

A quasi-experimental study was conducted in 16 public schools located in rural and urban areas. It targeted grade 5 pupils, aged 10 and 11. Data were collected using a structured KAP questionnaire before and immediately after reading the comic. Mean KAP scores were compared at baseline and after reading. A p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

The study included 446 pupils, with 197 from rural and 249 from urban schools. A significant improvement in the global KAP score from 10.2 ± 2.9 to 16.4 ± 1.9 (p < 0.0001) was noted. The knowledge sub-score and the attitudes and practices sub-scores showed significant improvement across all socio-demographic groups (p = 0.0002). Significant improvements in KAP scores resulted in very satisfactory scores in both rural (16.0 ± 2.0) and urban areas (16.7 ± 1.7). Obstacles to better learning were a higher initial score (OR=0.45, CI [0.39;0.53], p < 0.0001) and monotonous reading (OR=0.34, CI [0.17;0.68], p = 0.002). All the pupils learnt a lot about epilepsy and greatly enjoyed the comic.

Conclusion

The comic is an effective tool to improve KAP regarding epilepsy in various environments regardless of sociodemographic or cultural characteristics. Raising awareness among children, in our opinion, is the best way to anticipate stigma linked to epilepsy.