Abstracts

Rationale: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 50 million people are suffering from Epilepsy across the globe, out of which 80% people reside in the developing countries. Nearly 12 million people with epilepsy are in India; which is a significant portion of the global burden. The majority of patients with epilepsy in India live in the rural areas. This is the largest survey ever conducted of patients with epilepsy in rural India. It gives us a unique insight into the awareness of epilepsy and its treatment in rural India. Methods: This was a survey done at 56 rural districts of Maharashtra (one of the largest states in India) during the Free Epilepsy Detection and Treatment Camps organized by Epilepsy Foundation (India) in association with National Health Mission (Government of Maharashtra). The sample was collected over a 5-year period from 2012-2018. There were a total of 9440 epilepsy patients who participated in the survey. The survey was done in the local language of Marathi. A 14-item questionnaire was used for the survey. Results: Only 64.32% of patients answered Yes to the question that do you know what epilepsy is. 63.07% of patients expressed an understanding that epilepsy is a disorder of the brain. Only 60.25% of patients had seen a Neurologist and only 62.25% of these patients were regularly taking medications prescribed by the Neurologist. Only 51.71% of patients knew that seizure Disorder can be controlled by medications. 47.55% of patients did not know that there are different types of seizures. 50.94% of epilepsy patients surveyed thought that making a person having seizures smell onion or shoes (traditional myths) would help. 67.99% of epilepsy patients believed that there is a need to spread awareness about Epilepsy. Conclusions: This survey of 9440 patients in rural India gives us a snapshot of the significant lack of awareness of epilepsy and its treatment in rural India. A significant number of epilepsy patients in the world live in rural India and this vital information will inform our attempts to treat epilepsy in this critical region of the world. Funding: None