Perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana: a qualitative synthesis
BackgroundIn Ghana, over 270,000 people live with epilepsy, of which 70% do not receive treatment. Despite the high number of people with the condition, misconceptions exist about its causes and management in African regions. The study assessed the perceived causes and management of epilepsy among r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1230336/full |
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| author | Daniel Gyaase Daniel Gyaase Theresah Ivy Gyaase Theresah Ivy Gyaase Rebecca Tawiah Rebecca Tawiah Godfred Atta-Osei Godfred Atta-Osei Isaac Owusu Isaac Owusu Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah Yeetey Akpe Enuameh |
| author_facet | Daniel Gyaase Daniel Gyaase Theresah Ivy Gyaase Theresah Ivy Gyaase Rebecca Tawiah Rebecca Tawiah Godfred Atta-Osei Godfred Atta-Osei Isaac Owusu Isaac Owusu Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah Yeetey Akpe Enuameh |
| author_sort | Daniel Gyaase |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundIn Ghana, over 270,000 people live with epilepsy, of which 70% do not receive treatment. Despite the high number of people with the condition, misconceptions exist about its causes and management in African regions. The study assessed the perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana.MethodsA qualitative approach and phenomenological design were employed for the study. The population comprised community dwellers in Berekum, a rural town in the Bono Region of Ghana. A convenience sampling technique was used to sample the participants. An in-depth face-to-face interview with a semi-structured interview guide was used to collect participant data. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultA total of 15 participants were interviewed in the study, after which saturation was reached. Seven of the participants were men, and eight were women. Two categories emerged as the causes of epilepsy: socio-cultural and superstitious causes and biomedical causes. The socio-cultural and superstitious causes include “a manifestation or an influence of an evil spirit,” “family curse or disease,” “punishment from ancestors or gods of the land,” “having several convulsions,” “exposure to foam from an epileptic,” and “bites from an epileptic during seizures”, while the biomedical causes are “brain damage,” “blood group,” and “genetic makeup”. Consulting with the spiritual realm, pouring water on the person or washing the person's face, and putting a spoon in the mouth were identified by the participants as ways to manage epilepsy.ConclusionThe causes of epilepsy are primarily linked to the supernatural, with the results indicating that rural community residents largely attribute epilepsy to “evil spirits”. This implies that the rural communities' knowledge about the causes of epilepsy is based on the social causation theory of disease and disability, which relates diseases to the supernatural. Management of the condition was mainly seen as spiritual. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T19:59:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-84386b4affb74a7bb2272250aac9283c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-2295 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T19:59:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neurology |
| spelling | doaj.art-84386b4affb74a7bb2272250aac9283c2023-10-04T12:41:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952023-10-011410.3389/fneur.2023.12303361230336Perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana: a qualitative synthesisDaniel Gyaase0Daniel Gyaase1Theresah Ivy Gyaase2Theresah Ivy Gyaase3Rebecca Tawiah4Rebecca Tawiah5Godfred Atta-Osei6Godfred Atta-Osei7Isaac Owusu8Isaac Owusu9Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah10Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah11Yeetey Akpe Enuameh12Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaCenter for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaCenter for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, School of Public Health, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaCenter for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, School of Public Health, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaCenter for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, School of Public Health, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaCenter for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, School of Public Health, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaCenter for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, School of Public Health, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Kwame University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaBackgroundIn Ghana, over 270,000 people live with epilepsy, of which 70% do not receive treatment. Despite the high number of people with the condition, misconceptions exist about its causes and management in African regions. The study assessed the perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana.MethodsA qualitative approach and phenomenological design were employed for the study. The population comprised community dwellers in Berekum, a rural town in the Bono Region of Ghana. A convenience sampling technique was used to sample the participants. An in-depth face-to-face interview with a semi-structured interview guide was used to collect participant data. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultA total of 15 participants were interviewed in the study, after which saturation was reached. Seven of the participants were men, and eight were women. Two categories emerged as the causes of epilepsy: socio-cultural and superstitious causes and biomedical causes. The socio-cultural and superstitious causes include “a manifestation or an influence of an evil spirit,” “family curse or disease,” “punishment from ancestors or gods of the land,” “having several convulsions,” “exposure to foam from an epileptic,” and “bites from an epileptic during seizures”, while the biomedical causes are “brain damage,” “blood group,” and “genetic makeup”. Consulting with the spiritual realm, pouring water on the person or washing the person's face, and putting a spoon in the mouth were identified by the participants as ways to manage epilepsy.ConclusionThe causes of epilepsy are primarily linked to the supernatural, with the results indicating that rural community residents largely attribute epilepsy to “evil spirits”. This implies that the rural communities' knowledge about the causes of epilepsy is based on the social causation theory of disease and disability, which relates diseases to the supernatural. Management of the condition was mainly seen as spiritual.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1230336/fullepilepsyperceived causesmanagementseizuresepileptic |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Gyaase Daniel Gyaase Theresah Ivy Gyaase Theresah Ivy Gyaase Rebecca Tawiah Rebecca Tawiah Godfred Atta-Osei Godfred Atta-Osei Isaac Owusu Isaac Owusu Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah Yeetey Akpe Enuameh Perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana: a qualitative synthesis Frontiers in Neurology epilepsy perceived causes management seizures epileptic |
| title | Perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana: a qualitative synthesis |
| title_full | Perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana: a qualitative synthesis |
| title_fullStr | Perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana: a qualitative synthesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana: a qualitative synthesis |
| title_short | Perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in Ghana: a qualitative synthesis |
| title_sort | perceived causes and management of epilepsy among rural community dwellers in ghana a qualitative synthesis |
| topic | epilepsy perceived causes management seizures epileptic |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1230336/full |
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