Enhancing epilepsy and seizure first aid awareness in polish youth: The impact of targeted educational programs

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy is frequently associated with psychological and social challenges for both children and adults including social isolation, fear of seizures, and difficulties forming close relationships. These issues often come from a lack of understanding of this disease in the general population. Educational programs may help improve public knowledge of epilepsy and potentially contribute to stigma reduction. MATERIALS & METHODS: This study evaluated the impact of a targeted educational intervention on epilepsy awareness among high school students. A structured, three-phase protocol was implemented, comprising a demographic survey, a pre-lesson knowledge test, a dedicated epilepsy education session, and a post-lesson test. The questionnaire addressed topics such as epilepsy epidemiology, seizure types, appropriate first aid responses and challenges in daily life faced by individuals with epilepsy. RESULTS: After excluding incomplete responses, data from 550 students were analyzed. The intervention resulted in a significant increase in knowledge, with mean results rising from 9.26/15 correct answers (61.7%) in the pre-lesson test to 12.97/15 (86.5%) in the post-lesson test (p < 0.001). While baseline knowledge did not differ by gender, female students exhibited greater post-lesson improvement (p < 0.05). Younger participants tended to score lower at baseline (p = 0.07), but all age groups showed similar results in the post-lesson test. Students in biology-focused academic tracks demonstrated higher baseline understanding (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the effectiveness of targeted educational programs in enhancing epilepsy and seizure first aid short-term knowledge among adolescents.