Epilepsy in rural burundi: Knowledge, attitudes and practice

Recently performed studies have shown that epilepsy is a health problem in Burundi. Health authorities are planning a comprehensive care programme for epilepsy. A study of patients' experience, beliefs and representations of epilepsy (the Knowledge-Attitudes-Practice study) constitutes a required preliminary. This study was conducted in the northern part of Burundi in 2001, in the Kiremba community. People with epilepsy and controls were recruited in the various villages of the community and were interviewed using a standard questionaire. 780 persons were interviewed, including 352 with epilepsy, and 428 without epilepsy. The mean age of the sample was 27.8 ± 15.6 years. 17 different denominations for epilepsy were listed. On one side, epilepsy was named from its popular etiological caracteristics, with an overall mysterious interpretation. On the other side, epilepsy was named on the basis of its symptoms. Belief in contagiosity, incurability, supernatural origin, social and professional discriminations and stigma remain omnipresent.