Perception of childhood convulsion among women in a peri-urban community in Ilorin, Nigeria

Background: Poor understanding of childhood convulsion among parents contributes largely to morbidity and mortality resulting from convulsion in developing countries. Aims and Objectives: This study evaluated the knowledge and attitude of women regarding childhood convulsion in Tegbesun, a peri-urban community in Ilorin, Nigeria. Methods: This community based study comprised of 500 women aged between 18 and 65 years who were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and a focused group discussion among 10 women within the study group. The results: Clenching of the teeth (100%) was the commonest biomedical description for convulsion. 69.8% of subjects believed that a child dies temporarily during convulsion but regains life post-ictally. Subjects also attributed “angry gods” (51.8%), “evil spirit” (49.0%), “constipation” (36.8%) and “black blood” (0.6%) to be causes of childhood convulsion. Lack of maternal formal education was found to significantly influence poor knowledge about childhood convulsion. Conclusion: The study underscored the paucity of knowledge on childhood convulsion. Health information was given in the community to mothers, teachers and health workers regarding the causes, treatment and prevention of childhood convulsions. KeywordsChildhood-Convulsion, Perception, Peri-urban, Ilorin, Nigeria.