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Purpose Attitudes concerning epilepsy improved over the last few decades, but children with epilepsy still suffer from stigmatisation. Data about unaffected children's knowledge of and attitudes about epilepsy is scarce. Methods We developed a questionnaire regarding epilepsy for high school students attending 8th–10th grade. The survey was performed from October 2015 to March 2016 in 5 different federal states of Germany. Results 1092 students [mean age (Q25/75): 14.5 (14/15) years] participated. 542/1092 (50%) of the respondents knew that people could die from a seizure. 216/1092 (20%) thought emotional strain could cause epilepsy. Asked for measures they would perform in case of a seizure, 235/1092 (24%) participants would hold the person to the ground, and 182/1092 (19%) would put a solid object into the person's mouth. 28/1092 (3%) would not like to be friends with a person with epilepsy, and 237/1092 (22%) would not like to go on a date with a person with epilepsy. Answers of 342/1092 (31%) students of a school located nearby a specialised epilepsy centre differed in some questions. The latter students were more familiar with epilepsy and showed better knowledge concerning causes, symptoms and treatment of epilepsy. In a question about special characteristics of people with epilepsy, 63/342 (18%) [other schools: 52/750 (11%)] answered people with epilepsy were friendlier and 76/342 (22%) [other schools: 49/750 (11%)] answered they were more sociable compared to people without epilepsy. Conclusion To improve knowledge and attitudes and reduce misconceptions further education seems necessary.

Prolonged seizures can cause severe harm and even death. For seizures lasting longer than 5min, an administration of rescue medication is therefore recommended. Caregivers such as preschool teachers should be able to administer correctly anticonvulsive rescue medication to children.A training concept for preschool teachers on seizure management focussing on practical skills was developed. To assess the success of the training, a structured interview on attitudes relating to rescue medication administration was conducted. The number of committed errors during administration of a rectal/buccal rescue medication to dummy dolls was compared before and after training.210 teachers from 115 preschools participated while all teachers from 303 preschools had been invited. The self-reported level of confidence in their own skills to administer anticonvulsive rescue medication increased from 5 to 8 on a scale from 1 to 10 (p0.001). The number of participants who agreed to administer rescue medication rose from 195/210 (92.8%) before training to 209/210 (99.5%, p0.001) after training for the rectal route, and from 173/210 (82.4%) to 209/210 (99.5%, p0.001) for the buccal route. For teachers who administered rescue medication before and after training, the number of administrations without any administration errors rose from 1/195 (0.5%) to 117/195 (60.0%, p0.001) for the rectal route, and from 13/173 (7.5%) to 95/173 (54.9%, p0.001) for the buccal route.A training for preschool teachers boosted the level of self-confidence relating to administration of anticonvulsive rescue medication. Teachers also committed fewer errors when administering rescue medication to dummy dolls.