Parental perceptions and Practices regarding eye health of children: A study from a teaching hospital of coastal Karnataka.

Dr Shama Sharief; Dr Vidya Hegde

Volume : X, Issue : III, March - 2020

Parental perceptions and Practices regarding eye health of children: A study from a teaching hospital of coastal Karnataka.

Dr Shama Sharief, Dr Vidya Hegde

Abstract :

Aims: To assess the perceptions and practices followed by parents regarding eye health of their children. Setting & Design: A questionnaire based study done in a teaching hospital of coastal Karnataka. Material & Method: A cross–sectional study amongst 96 parents attending tertiary health care centre and camps conducted by the same centre, through a self designed validated questionnaire. Results: Age of the respondents ranged from 23 to 55 years. Majority (79.16%) were females. 69.79% and 90.62% of the parents knew that cataract and strabismus can occur in children respectively. Amblyopia as a complication of untreated refractive error was not known to 56.25% of the participants. Participants got the information about ocular conditions mainly from newspaper 70.83%. Overall knowledge regarding the use of different mode of treatments for the ocular conditions was good except patching. Parents (66.66%) preferred to take their children to an Ophthalmologist .The reason for not consulting a doctor for ocular conditions was found to be time and financial constraints. Conclusion: Parents were aware of common eye problems in children. Information about ocular health among parents was largely acquired through the newspaper which can be used as a tool to spread awareness. Increased awareness about these is required to positively affect the eye–care seeking behavior of parents for their children, thereby reducing visual impairment in this population.