Stigma and psychiatric morbidity among mothers of children with epilepsy in Zambia.

Background: Epilepsy-associated stigma contributes substantially to the social, medical, and economic burden of disease for people with epilepsy (PWE), but little is known about its impact on caregivers of PWE.

Methods: To better understand stigma experienced by caregivers of PWE, factors that influence caregiver stigma, and the effect of stigma on a caregiver's psychologic well being, we interviewed 100 caregivers of children with epilepsy in Zambia. Questions assessed maternal knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to epilepsy, maternal stigma, mother's proxy report of child stigma, and maternal psychiatric morbidity.