Parents’ Awareness and Perception of Children’s Eye Diseases in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

BackgroundThe visual system becomes more susceptible to conditions causing abnormal binocular interaction or blurred visual input as it matures during the first six years of life. Therefore, detection and treatment of visual impairment at a young age can lower the burden of the condition in adulthood. According to estimates, there are 19 million children worldwide with visual impairment, and 1.4 million children suffer from blindness. One of the strategies to address blinding eye conditions and visual impairment is through health promotion. For children, the efficient way of intervention is through parents and their school environment. Therefore, the establishment of an effective health promotion model for addressing childhood blindness requires awareness building of parents and health care practices. Few studies were undertaken in Saudi Arabia to focus on the awareness of parents about childhood eye diseases and visual impairment. The aim of this study is to assess parents' awareness and perception of children's eye diseases in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, from January to December 2021. A selfadministered questionnaire was randomly distributed to parents of children aged 15 and younger via WhatsApp. The survey consisted of four main sections: socio-demographic data, knowledge about eye care, knowledge about eye diseases, and eye care practice. ResultsThe knowledge about eye diseases in children was of excellent grade in 20 parents (3.6%), good in 101 (18.2%), and poor in 434 (78.2%). Knowledge was good in 287 parents (51.7%) for amblyopia, 65 (11.7%) for childhood cataract, and 69 (12.4%) for childhood glaucoma. The attitude regarding children wearing spectacles and undergoing ophthalmic surgery when needed was positive in 427 (76.9%) and 474 (85.4%) parents, respectively. Over half of the participants (58.6%) had visited an ophthalmology clinic for the examination of their children. Doctors, campaigns, and social media were the preferred modes of receiving knowledge. Participants aged 51 years or over (p = 0.022), with a higher income level (p = 0.004), of Saudi origin (p = 0.036), and those with a child with an eye disease (p = 0.001) had significantly higher knowledge scores about childhood eye diseases. ConclusionThe levels of knowledge, practice, and attitude among parents regarding pediatric eye diseases were unsatisfactory. Health promotion through utilizing parents' preferred modes of media could improve the eye care of children in the study area.

Parents’ Awareness and Attitude Toward Pediatrics Eye Diseases in Makkah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In this self-reported cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess parents' awareness and attitude toward pediatric eye diseases. A previous study reported poor knowledge in 78.2% of parents [ 7 ], whereas another study reported poor knowledge among 91.9% of parents [ 8 ]. Consistently, our findings showed that 72.8% of parents had a low level of awareness regarding pediatric eye diseases.…”

“…The results of the previous studies regarding this subject reveal the need for further assessment of the knowledge about children's eye diseases among parents and its associated factors to enhance the improvement of their understanding level [ 7 , 8 , 11 ].…”

“…The self-administered questionnaire used in the present study was adapted from a previously published study [ 7 ]. It was translated into Arabic by two independent bilingual translators, then a team of experts and translators evaluated the translation to resolve any issues.…”

“…In Dammam, Saudi Arabia, the most significant pediatric eye diseases were refractive error and strabismus (44.4% and 38%, respectively) [ 6 ]. In the last study conducted in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, in February 2022, about parents’ awareness of pediatric eye diseases, 40.5% of the parents mentioned that their children had an eye disease [ 7 ].…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Among Parents of Strabismic Children in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The preferred source of information about cross-eye was doctors or healthcare workers for most of the responders. Relatives and friends represented the main source of knowledge about strabismus in some studies [ 14 , 19 ], while in other studies the reported resources were doctors, internet browsers, and social media [ 29 , 30 ]. Unsurprisingly, the internet and social media use to obtain information about strabismus was the least among participants.…”