Epilepsy and Stigmatization: A review

Abstract

SUMMARYEpilepsy, which is considered dangerous and scary by the society, is a frequent neurological disease. Although epileptic seizures can be controlled with drugs, prejudices towards this disease being scary still continue. There are several factors that determine the level of stigmatization directed to epilepsy. Age, marital status,education of the patient, age of disease onset, the treatment duration of the disease, drug side effects, accompanying physical and psychiatric disorders, education level of those stigmatizing and disease-related knowledge level are among these factors. Adverse outcomes are observed in many areas such as quality of life, treatment complience, social and occupational functionality. The aim of this article is to increase the awareness of stigmatization that hampers the treatment and quality of life of epilepsy patients.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on drug compliance and stigmatization in patients with epilepsy

“…In addition, the stigma associated with epilepsy has been found to be associated with low self-perception, high anxiety level, and depression [17] , [18] . The age of the patient, the age of onset of the disease, the duration of the treatment, marital status, drug side effects, accompanying physical and psychiatric disorders, the education level of the patients and the level of knowledge about the disease are among the factors that affect the stigmatization [19] . Adverse outcomes are observed in many areas such as quality of life, treatment compliance, and social and occupational functionality.…”

“…Disease progression is exacerbated by the stress from stigmatization. Therefore, stigmatization is an important factor that increases the severity of the disease [19] . In our study, the stigmatization of epilepsy patients increased as the education level decreased and the number of drugs used increased.…”

One Patient, Three Providers: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Managing Common Neuropsychiatric Cases

“…There have been reports of an adolescent with epilepsy facing stigmatization at school, leading to an increase in seizure frequency after being excluded from certain activities. Epilepsy is often perceived by society as dangerous and frightening, and these misconceptions persist even when seizures are effectively controlled through medication [67]. Family physicians play a crucial role in combating such stigma.…”

İnfertilite Tanısı Alan Kadınların Stigma Deneyimleri ve Baş Etme Yolları: Bir Derleme

“…İnfertil kadınların yüzleştiği sosyal damgalanmalar konusunda bilgiyi artırmak için bu durumun sosyal medyayı etkin kullanarak görünür kılınmasını artırmak gerekmektedir (Ay, 2017).…”