Knowledges, Attitudes and Practices Related to Primitive Open Angle Glaucoma in The Adult Population in Northern Benin

Abstract

Introduction: Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) is a serious condition responsible for irreversible blindness. It is one of the main causes of blindness in developing countries. Purpose: To assess the knowledges, attitudes and practices relating to Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) in the adult population in northern Benin. Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study. It concerned all persons aged 18 years old and over. We had done a two-stage sampling. The Chi2 test, at the 5% threshold, had been used to study the associations. Results: Of a total of 560 subjects, 548 (97.85%) participated in the study. The mean age was 33.1 ± 16.5 years. The male sex was more represented (61.13%) with a sex ratio of 1.57. The secondary level was represented with 46.35% (n = 254) and as an occupation, 22.63% (n = 124) were traders. 70.99% (n = 389) of subjects had heard of eye disease, of which only 8.76% (n = 48) had heard of glaucoma. It is called Naradiou in Bariba. But only 1.24% had a good knowledge of the disease. 50% (n = 24) did not known the cause, 4.17% (n = 2) attributed it to the curse and 2.08% (n = 1) to witchcraft. 72.50% (n = 35) knew that glaucoma could progress to blindness and 59.09% (n = 13) thought it was irreversible. 79.17% (n = 38) of subjects knew that there is a treatment, 52.63% (n = 20) said it was medical, 36.84% (n = 14) said it was surgical and 10, 53% (n = 4) thought it is traditional. The attitude was bad in 57.74% of the cases. Education and occupation were significantly associated with glaucoma knowledge and practice, but only gender was statistically related to attitude with a p-value of 0.0052. Conclusion: The level of knowledge of POAG in the adult population in northern Benin is alarming, as is the attitude and the practice which remains to be improved. Communication programs for behavior change must be initiated in order to reduce the rate of blindness linked to this pathology in this population.

Knowledge about glaucoma among adults in Africa: a systematic review

“…Of the 8 studies, three were published from 2013 to 2018 years [ 6 – 8 ] and five were published from 2019 to 2023 years [ 9 – 13 ]. Five studies used a sample size of less than 400 [ 6 , 7 , 9 – 11 ], and three of the studies used a sample size of more than 400 [ 8 , 12 , 13 ]. A small sample size (163) was observed in a study conducted in Ikpoba-Okha, South-South Nigeria, and a large sample size (594) in Gish Abay town, Northwest Ethiopia (Table 1 ).…”

“…Education (high school and university levels) and occupation were significantly associated with knowledge about glaucoma. The conclusion of the study described that the proportion of good knowledge of glaucoma was alarmingly low [ 12 ] (Table 2 ).…”

“…In all reviewed eight studies, the proportion of participants who knew about glaucoma was below 50.9% [ 6 – 13 ]. A high proportion of knowledge was reported from a study conducted in Ethiopia (50.9%) [ 9 ] and a low level of knowledge about glaucoma was detected in Northern Benin (1.24%) [ 12 ]. This review revealed that the level of good knowledge about glaucoma among adults in Africa is generally low.…”

Knowledge about Glaucoma among Adults in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Three studies were from Ethiopia and Nigeria, and two studies from Benin and Ghana. Of the 8 studies, three were published from 2013-2018 years (16-18) and ve were published from 2019-2023 years (19)(20)(21)(22)(23). Five studies used a sample size of less than 400 (16, 17, 19-21), and three of the studies used a sample size of more than 400 (18,22,23).…”

“…Of the 8 studies, three were published from 2013-2018 years (16-18) and ve were published from 2019-2023 years (19)(20)(21)(22)(23). Five studies used a sample size of less than 400 (16, 17, 19-21), and three of the studies used a sample size of more than 400 (18,22,23). Small sample size (163) was observed in a study conducted in Ikpoba-Okha, South-South Nigeria and large sample size (594) in Gish Abay town, Northwest Ethiopia (Table 1).…”