Schoolteachers’ and pupils’ attitudes towards and misbeliefs about first aid for seizures: a scoping review

Background . Schoolteachers and pupils constitute a tremendous force of potential rescuers who may promptly respond to seizure episodes in school settings and beyond. It is important to understand their awareness and readiness towards providing first aid for seizures. A scoping review was conducted to map related evidence from international studies. Objective : To identify and summarise current research on real-life experiences, attitudes and knowledge of schoolteachers and school pupils regarding first aid for seizures. Material and methods . The search and selection of sources from PubMed/MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases was carried out in accordance with the PRISMA recommendations. All records were evaluated based on their title and abstract. After clearing from duplicates, full texts were assessed for eligibility. Bibliographies of eligible papers were hand-searched for additional relevant publications. Results . A total of 84 survey studies conducted in 28 countries were included. Based on the collective research data, the median percentages of teachers and pupils who ever witnessed a seizure were 57.5 and 57.1, respectively. About 27.7% of teachers were bystanders to a seizure incident in a child at school. Among teachers, 22.2% attempted first aid for seizures in real life but only 9.2% received first-aid training. A large proportion of teachers and pupils considered applying measures that may cause harm to a person with seizures. Conclusion . Schoolteachers’ and pupils’ unpreparedness to give first aid for seizures constitutes a global health concern that demands coordinated international and country-level efforts aiming at the wide implementation of high-quality education on first aid for epileptic seizures at schools.