Epilepsy knowledge, beliefs and education

There can be little doubt that successful adjustment to epilepsy is dependant on people with epilepsy having a good understanding of their condition and its treatment. However, there is a growing body of evidence which has shown that there is significant ignorance with regards to the purpose and results of diagnosis, the causes and consequences of seizures and the purpose and possible side effects of medication. There also appears to be considerable dissatisfaction with the provision and availability of epilepsy related information. In this chapter, a review is made of the available evidence concerning patients' knowledge of epilepsy. Also, consideration is given to possible reasons for knowledge deficits and to potential methods of providing epilepsy knowledge effectively.