Abstract:

People living with epilepsy suffer from stigmatization, overprotection, or exclusion, thus, part of these population in developing countries uses traditional medicine as a first resort.The THs practicing in the Littoral, Center and West regions of Cameroon were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Epi Info version 7.2 software. Two-hundred and eight THs were recruited, with a mean age ± standard deviation (SD) of 49.9 ± 11.4 years, and 169 (81.2%) were male. Primary 77(37.0%) and secondary 67(32.2%) levels of education were the most represented, and most of the THs had more than 10 years of professional experience. One hundred and forty-one TH (68,7%) had poor knowledge about epilepsy. The independent factors associated with poor knowledge were female sex, Muslim religion, and marital status of cohabitation. One hundred and eighty-four THs (88.4%) had a good attitude and practices toward people with seizures. Factors independently associated with poor practices and attitude were rural residence, and education level.