Stigma of epilepsy among patients and their relatives attending charity clinic, Omdurman — Sudan

Epilepsy is the world's most common and most serious chronic neurological disease affecting near 50 million people. Epilepsy has a well-recognized stigma which is defined by Link and Phalen as a status which exists when elements of labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination occur together in a power situation that allows them to unfold. Stigma has a major contribution to the reduction of quality of life in people with epilepsy. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the types of stigma types, frequency, its association with demographical factors, and the coping ability in PWE. Methods: Health facility-based case-series analytical study was conducted on 80 patients with epilepsy aged from 8-70 years attending Dr. Abbashar Hussein's charity clinic in Om-Durman city. Verbal consent was obtained from the patients and a standardized questionnaire was used for the interview of the patients. Assistance was occasionally asked from their relative. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16.