AWARENESS ON EYE CARE AMONG INDIAN KIDS BELOW THE AGE GROUP OF TWELVE YEARS - A SURVEY

Abstract

Childhood blindness refers to a group of diseases and conditions occurring in childhood or early adolescence which if left untreated results in severe blindness or some visual impairment that are likely to be untreatable later in life. A cross sectional survey was conducted on 100 patients on awareness on eye care among Indian kids below the age group of twelve years. Data collection was done using a self structured questionnaire consisting of 11 questions. Google forms were used to collect the data and circulate among the patients.Data analysis done using SPSS by IBM. After tabulation using MS Excel, the data was exported to IBM SPSS software for statistical analysis. It was observed that majority of the kids in 6-12 years of age group wore spectacles (n=32;62.7%) when compared to the other age group, 1-5 years (n=16;33.3%).Pearson’s Chi square value=1.246; df=1; p-value: 0.264 (p>0.05); hence statistically not significant. It was observed that majority of the Indian kids parents at about 6-12 years of age were aware about the fact that improper intake of nutritious food could lead to eye problems (n=43;67.2%) when compared to 1-5 years of age group(n=21;32.8%).Pearson’s Chi square value=2.861; df=1; p-value: 0.091 (p>0.05); hence statistically not significant.It was observed that majority of the kids at about 6-12 years of age spent less than 5 hours on gadgets(n=27;54%) when compared to 1-5 years of age group(n=23;46%). It was also observed that a few kids spent less than 12 hours on gadgets,6- 12 years of age group(n=18;72%) and 1-5 years of age group(n=7;28%). It was also observed that a few kids spent less than 10 hours on gadgets, 6-12 years of age group (n=16;64%) and 1-5 years of age group (n=9;36%).Pearson’s Chi square value=2.396; df=2; p-value: 0.302 (p>0.05); hence statistically not significant.The study concluded that although most parents are aware of common eye diseases in children, they have the wrong perception of the causes of these diseases.One of the prerequisites of health-seeking behavior is knowledge of disease and their symptoms, which seems to be lacking in parents of children.The findings of this study suggest that programs to increase awareness of the causative factors and spectacle wearing to be done.