Abstracts

To compare perceptions that coworkers have of three chronic neurological illnesses: epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and depression based on the visibility of the disease disabling symptoms.
We distributed a 31 question survey to employees in two New York City companies. Three vignettes were presented describing new employees who eventually revealed that they had either epilepsy; depression, or multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis was presented as a visible illness, depicting a person with a disability, whereas the persons in the epilepsy and depression vignettes had no visible disabling features and no seizure was described in epilepsy vignette. Perceptions were assessed by a 3 or 4 degree (choices) scale.
Seventy-four out of two hundred surveys were returned (37% response). Forty-four percent of respondents reported that they realized the subject of the vignette had MS before it was revealed to them, compared to 28% with depression and 12% with epilepsy. Forty-two percent of respondents reported [ldquo]much more[rdquo] or [ldquo]somewhat more[rdquo] anxiety at the idea of interacting with the person with epilepsy, compared to 40% with depression and 30% with MS. Twenty one percent of respondents reported that they were [ldquo]very worried[rdquo] that the person with epilepsy would have sudden, unpredictable behavior, compared to 15% for depression and 8% for MS. Ten percent of respondents thought that the depressed subject could [ldquo]very much[rdquo] have avoided getting depression, compared to 3% for MS and 7% for epilepsy. However, forty-three percent of respondents reported that they thought epilepsy would have no effect on job ability, compared to 32% for depression and 16% for MS.
Although well-controlled epilepsy is an invisible illness, it produced the highest level of anxiety in the workplace among the illnesses evaluated. Visibility of a neurological illness is associated with the impression that the job is at risk for being performed inadequately, but among epilepsy, depression and MS, the visible and known illness produced less anxiety in the workplace. The [ldquo]blame[rdquo] of being afflicted with neurological illness also be based on the social perception of the disease.