A Structured Epilepsy Awareness and Seizure First-Aid Training Program for Teachers to Enhance Knowledge and Preparedness in the School Environment

Background: Epilepsy is a common yet highly stigmatized neurological disorder, especially in schools where misconceptions and poor seizure preparedness affect children with epilepsy. Teachers are often first responders during school-based seizures, yet limited awareness and confidence hinder effective management and psychosocial support. Addressing epilepsy requires not only seizure control but also reduction of stigma and improvement of inclusive educational practice. Objective: To evaluate the impact of structured school-based epilepsy awareness and seizure first-aid training program on teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and emergency preparedness across South India. Methods: A school-based educational intervention was conducted under the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE)–Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) initiative across selected districts in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Approximately 480 school teachers participated in 10 programs. Baseline assessments was performed using self-administered questionnaire evaluating epilepsy-related knowledge, seizure recognition, emergency response practices, stigma, and classroom preparedness. The intervention comprised expert-led lectures, audiovisual seizure demonstrations, real-life case discussions, and practical seizure first-aid guidance. A structured feedback form was used to assess the impact of intervention. Results: Preintervention analysis revealed significant deficiencies in epilepsy awareness and preparedness. Only 33% of teachers reported good understanding of epilepsy, while 22% demonstrated poor awareness and low confidence in handling seizure emergencies. Misconceptions regarding intellectual capability, social participation, and academic performance were common. Following the intervention, marked improvement was observed across all assessed domains. Approximately 85% of participants demonstrated excellent understanding of epilepsy, improved seizure response confidence, reduced stigma, and inclusive education, while poor awareness declined to nearly 5%. Conclusion: Structured teacher-focused epilepsy education significantly improves awareness, preparedness, confidence, and inclusive attitudes, highlighting its value in creating safer, supportive, and epilepsy aware school environments for children. Publication History Article published online: 15 July 2026 © 2026. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Limited A-13A, Graphix Tower 1, 6th floor, Sector 62, Noida 201309, Uttar Pradesh, India