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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · International Journal of Epilepsy 2020; 6(02): 50-53
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1715767
Original Article

Education, Marriage, and Employment in People with Epilepsy: The Barriers that Patients Perceive

Ali A. Asadi-Pooya
1   Epilepsy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
2   Department of Neurology, Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
,
Maryam Homayoun
1   Epilepsy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
,
Shahla Keshavarz
1   Epilepsy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
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Abstract

Objectives We surveyed people with epilepsy (PWE) and uncontrolled seizures on the challenges which they have had in their lives with respect to educational achievement, employment, and marriage. We tried to scrutinize their reasons and perceptions for their social underachievement and difficulties.

Materials and Methods Adult patients above 25 years of age, with epileptic seizures for more than 5 years, who were investigated at Shiraz Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, from January until March 2019, were studied. We prepared a questionnaire for our study and asked whether they have any college education? If they have ever married? And, if they are employed?

Results Seventy patients enrolled in our study. Age of the patients was 33 ± 6 years (range: 26–59 years) and their age at onset of epilepsy was 14 ± 9 years (range: 0–35 years). Forty-four patients (63%) never received any college education; 30 patients (43%) were single; and finally, 37 patients (53%) were unemployed. The most common reasons perceived by the patients for these life challenges were functional disability (e.g., inability to study or to work), social discrimination and stigmatization, and uncontrolled seizures and the associated consequences (i.e., fear of having seizures).

Conclusion Many PWE (both men and women) and uncontrolled seizures suffer from social underachievement and challenges in their daily lives. Various strategies may help PWE to overcome these challenges.

Keywords

education - epilepsy - marriage - seizure


Publication History

Article published online:
20 August 2020

© 2020. Indian Epilepsy Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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