Publication

Abstract : BackgroundEpilepsy is a disorder of the brain that is characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate seizures and by its neurological, cognitive, psychological and social consequences.AimThe aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of nursing educational intervention on knowledge regarding first aid measures of epilepsy among care givers of children with epilepsy.Settings and designPre experimental one group pre test post test design was used. The study was conducted among care givers of children with epilepsy in selected wards and OPDs of AIMS, Kochi.Materials and methodQuantitative approach with pre-experiential design was used to collect the data. The sample size of the study was 30 care givers who were taking care of children with epilepsy attending neurology OPD and selected wards of AIMS, Kochi. Pre designed and validated structured questionnaires were used to collect the data.ResultsThe study results showed that the majority 28(93.3%) of the subjects were females and mothers to the children with epilepsy and 13(43.3%) of the subjects had higher secondary level of education. Among the 30 subjects 15(50%) had previous experience of managing epilepsy. The comparison of mean pre-test (15.1) and post-test (23.3) shown that there is a significant increase in the knowledge level after the nursing educational intervention. There was also a significant association between the pre-test knowledge score and the selected demographic variables, that is education (‘t’=2.76, p0.01) and previous experience of managing epilepsy (‘t’= 4.388, p0.001).ConclusionThe study concludes that the nursing educational intervention on first aid measures of epilepsy was an effective strategy for enhancing the knowledge of caregivers of children with epilepsy regarding the first aid measures of epilepsy.