{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T06:02:08Z","timestamp":1789970528018,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789948800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders and affects people of all ages. In Saudi Arabia, its prevalence is higher than global estimates, with higher rates reported among children. Despite its prevalence, misconceptions and stigma surrounding epilepsy persist and may contribute to social exclusion, discrimination, and adverse psychological consequences, with children facing increased social challenges. Research on public knowledge awareness and attitudes toward childhood epilepsy remains limited in Al Madinah Al Munawwara. This study therefore assessed community knowledge awareness and attitudes toward childhood epilepsy and examined their associations with sociodemographic characteristics.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional study was conducted among 580 adult residents of Al Madinah Al Munawwara between April and July 2025. Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and seizure first aid knowledge. Descriptive statistics Mann\u2013Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, Spearman correlation, and multivariable binary logistic regression were used for analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Most participants had previously heard or read about epilepsy (87.3%), and attitudes toward children with epilepsy were generally favorable. However, important knowledge gaps were identified. Nearly two-thirds did not know what to do during a seizure (64.7%) or how to provide first aid to a child experiencing one (65.2%). Some participants reported inappropriate first-aid actions, including placing an object in the child\u2019s mouth and restraining the child. Higher educational attainment and previous exposure to epilepsy were independently associated with better knowledge. Male participants had lower odds of good knowledge and favorable attitudes than females, while previous exposure to epilepsy was associated with more favorable attitudes. Knowledge awareness and attitudes were positively but weakly correlated.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study demonstrates that the Madinah community has high general awareness and favorable attitudes toward childhood epilepsy. However, practical knowledge of seizure first aid remains insufficient. Strengthening community-based educational initiatives may improve understanding and promote appropriate responses to seizures.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1858918","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T05:34:55Z","timestamp":1789968895000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Knowledge, attitudes, and seizure first aid for childhood epilepsy among the Madinah community, Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Jawad Khalid","family":"Alsaedi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Salman","family":"Althobaiti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Family and Community Medicine and Medical Education Department, Taibah University","place":["Madinah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nawaf Mohammed","family":"Alhejaili","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anas Nasser","family":"Alahmadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhannad Saeed","family":"Aljazaeri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmed Abdulrahman","family":"Alqarafi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Osama Abdullah","family":"Almohammdi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yousef Abdullah","family":"Ghibban","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdulrahman Nuwayfi","family":"Aloufi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdullah Faisal","family":"Aljohani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rayan Hani","family":"Alhojilee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Medina, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmad","family":"Assinnari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Science, College of Medicine, Taibah University","place":["Madinah, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Life and Health Research Centre, Taibah University","place":["Madinah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdullah","family":"Alsarrani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Family and Community Medicine and Medical Education Department, Taibah University","place":["Madinah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e110","DOI":"10.15190\/d.2020.7","article-title":"Epileptic seizures","volume":"8","author":"Anwar","year":"2020","journal-title":"Discover"},{"key":"ref2","volume-title":"Epilepsy","year":"2026"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"517","DOI":"10.24911\/IJMDC.51-1736338910","article-title":"Risk factors of epilepsy among Saudi Arabian children: a systematic review","volume":"9","author":"Alghamdi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int J Med Dev Ctries"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1159\/000522442","article-title":"The prevalence of active epilepsy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study","volume":"57","author":"Al 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Behav"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e48057","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.48057","article-title":"Parents\u2019 knowledge, awareness, and attitude toward children with epilepsy in the Al Baha region, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study","volume":"15","author":"Alharthi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jtumed.2016.06.007","article-title":"Knowledge and attitudes towards epilepsy in Saudi families","volume":"12","author":"Neyaz","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Taibah Univ Med Sci"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2016","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-022-14442-9","article-title":"Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of university students regarding COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in Vietnam","volume":"22","author":"Doan","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Public 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Rep"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"499","DOI":"10.4103\/0976-3147.188622","article-title":"Public knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy in Majmaah","volume":"7","author":"Almutairi","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Neurosci Rural Pract"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1858918\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T05:34:57Z","timestamp":1789968897000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1858918\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]]},"references-count":33,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1858918"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1858918","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]]},"article-number":"1858918"}}