The whole world is celebrating International Epilepsy Day this Monday, February 10. Consecrated since 2015, the day aims to promote the rights of patients with epilepsy and raise awareness. The day has all its meaning in Mali where, according to a study, the sick are still victims of false beliefs.
Epilepsy is a chronic disease characterized by the occurrence of so-called “epileptic” attacks. A team of Malian researchers, including Professor Youssoufa Maïga, currently Head of Neurology at the CHU Gabriel Touré, conducted a study to assess the knowledge and attitudes of people facing this pathology. entitled “Parents’ knowledge and attitudes on epilepsy in Mali”, the study was published in the 2011 Mali Medical Review.
A sample of 423 adults, 15% of whom had children with epilepsy, was interviewed during the study. The information was collected using a survey form. The questionnaire had two parts: one relating to socio-demographic data and the other relating to the knowledge and attitudes of the respondents. The results are edifying.
Only 2% of those questioned had thought of bringing the patient to a hospital
It appears that 49% of those questioned exclusively attributed supernatural origins to the disease, or one in two. Also, 40.6% of subjects thought that the course of epilepsy led to madness. Genetic disease or due to an acquired cerebral injury, for example following a trauma or a cerebrovascular accident, 59% of the people questioned in the study were however convinced that the disease is “contagious”. 31% believed that epilepsy is an incurable disease.
“The perception, beliefs, apprehensions vary from country to country. These ideas can influence individual and collective strategies regarding the possibilities of care ”, explains Professor Youssoufa Maïga. Called “Masian Kirikiri” in Bamabra, epilepsy is a life of stereotypes. Even 78% of the study subjects had witnessed at least one seizure, 33% had had a first aid reflex and only 22% had thought of pouring fresh water on the patient’s face. Worse, only 2% of those questioned had thought of bringing the patient to a hospital.
According to researchers, the “Ignorance of the causes and possibilities of treatment for epilepsy are at the root of the marginalization of those affected”. Medical treatment for epilepsy in Mali, the study finds, faces various obstacles. These include: the cultural perception of the disease, the lack of priority given to epilepsy by the health authorities, deficiencies in the infrastructure and the irregular supply of medicines. Facts which, deplore the researchers, compromise the care of patients with epilepsy.
Featured photo caption: (Illustration photo) Daniel Ojok (9), an orphan with nods and suffering from epilepsy, provokes a neighbor. He can be aggressive as a result of his illness. Image credit: Frederic Noy / Panos Pictures.
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Mariama Diallo | JSTM.ORG
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