[Anthropological approach to current parental perceptions of children's seizures]

Pediatric seizures are a common symptom, especially when associated with fever. This phenomenon is still shocking and traumatic for parents. The study analyzed current parental perceptions of seizures in order to improve the quality of management, care, and explanations provided to families at our emergency unit.

Methods: Using an anthropological approach, we analyzed 28 interviews of 37 parents whose child was admitted to our pediatric emergency unit between November 2007 and August 2008 due to a first seizure.

Results: The parental experience of the crisis was marked by upsetting memories of a "scary"-looking body and the perception of imminent death. Parental interpretations of the pathophysiology of the event were often wrong; very few mentioned the possibility of its cerebral origin, leading to inappropriate rescue attempts (e.g., giving CPR). The meaning attributed by parents to the word "seizure" and "epilepsy" usually referred to an exact clinical description of the phenomenon, but many admitted being unfamiliar with the term or at least its origin. Many studies have found the expectation of imminent death as well as inappropriate behaviors. This is the first study to consider interpretations expressed by parents around the convulsive phenomenon and to confirm a low level of knowledge of the symptom. Some historical interpretations persisted (e.g., the influence of excessive mood, anger, menstruation, demonic possession).

Conclusion: Understanding and integrating these parental interpretations seems essential to improving care for families who first experience this symptom. This study motivated the implementation of a special educational workshop on seizures in 2010.