Latest on Epilepsy
3-3-2010 | TV shows often mislead viewers about epilepsy first-aid
A recently published study has found that TV medical shows often misinform viewers about epilepsy.
A group of Canadian researchers watched a range of popular medical dramas including House MD, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and ER. They found that the doctors and nurses on the shows responded inappropriately to seizures almost half of the time.
A total of 327 episodes were watched and there were 59 seizures portrayed, almost all within a hospital setting. Inappropriate responses, such as holding a patient down, trying to stop involuntary movement, or putting something in the person's mouth occurred in 46% of the seizure depictions. Appropriate first-aid management was delivered less than 30% of the time, while the appropriateness of first aid couldn't be determined in the remaining cases. Nearly all first aid was performed by nurses or doctors.
Lead researcher, Dr. Andrew Moeller from Dalhousie University in Halifax said that he believes TV dramas are a potentially powerful method of educating the public about seizures and first aid. However, the results indicate that the television industry needs to be more aware of the proper guidelines for first-aid management of seizures.
These results are worrying. When it comes to learning about how to cope with medical emergencies in real life, many people take cues from how they've seen it done on TV. Following the advice from TV shows will it seems only lead to further misunderstanding about epilepsy and further popularise many of the myths surrounding the condition.
For the correct response to seizures, download Brainwave's helpful first-aid guide here.
