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Epilepsy remains misunderstood, particularly in resource poor countries (RPC). We developed and validated a tool to assess beliefs and attitudes about epilepsy among people with epilepsy (PWE) in Kilifi, Kenya. The 50-item scale was developed through a literature review and qualitative study findings, and its reliability and validity were assessed with 673 PWE. A final scale of 34 items had Cronbach's alpha scores for the five subscales: causes of epilepsy (α=0.71); biomedical treatment of epilepsy (α=0.70); cultural treatment of epilepsy (α=0.75); risk and safety concerns about epilepsy (α=0.56); and negative attitudes about epilepsy (α=0.76) and entire scale (α=0.70). Test-retest reliability was acceptable for all the subscales. The Kilifi Epilepsy Beliefs and Attitude Scale is a reliable and valid tool that measures beliefs and attitudes about epilepsy. It may be useful in other RPC or as a tool to assess the effectiveness of interventions to improve knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes about epilepsy.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.yebeh.2012.06.001

Type

Journal article

Journal

Epilepsy Behav

Publication Date

08/2012

Volume

24

Pages

480 - 487

Keywords

Adolescent, Adult, Attitude, Child, Child, Preschool, Culture, Epilepsy, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Infant, Kenya, Male, Psychometrics, Reproducibility of Results, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult