Understanding of and attitudes towards people with epilepsy among community-based rehabilitation volunteers in Guinea-Bissau.

Background: Community-based epilepsy care programs improve access to epilepsy treatment in resource-poor settings. Community volunteers are important to these services. Most studies on familiarity with, understanding of, and attitudes towards people with epilepsy (PWE), however, ignore these volunteers.

Methods: We explored these issues among 15 community volunteers involved in a community-based rehabilitation child epilepsy service recently initiated in Guinea-Bissau using face-to-face interviews.

Results: We found that the volunteers had a reasonable understanding of epilepsy, moderate attitudes towards PWE, and a good understanding of difficulties PWE encounter in society.

Conclusion: Evaluation of understanding and attitudes of community volunteers may be useful to improve low-cost community-based epilepsy programs. A correct understanding of epilepsy among community volunteers may increase effective treatment of and support to children with epilepsy through community-based epilepsy programs.