Alobaisi Saif, Alromaih Azam I, Aljulayfi Alaa S, Alanazi Salam M, Aldossari Shaikha
Pediatric Ophthalmology, King Abdullah Specialist Children Hospital, Riyadh, SAU.
College of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, SAU.
Cureus. 2022 Dec 30;14(12):e33120. doi: 10.7759/cureus.33120. eCollection 2022 Dec.
Background Strabismus is a reversible condition that must be identified and treated during the critical period of childhood. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the degree of knowledge, attitude, and practice among parents of strabismic children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Method To this end, a cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2021 to November 2021 with a sample size of 424 parents of children with strabismus seeking ophthalmologic consultants in private and governmental ophthalmology clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The questionnaire contains knowledge-related questions about strabismus, beliefs-related questions, questions addressing the barriers parents face regarding strabismus in a child, and sources of information about cross-eye and its management. Data were analysed using the SPSS database version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). P-values <0.5 was used for clinical significance. Result We found that most parents know there is a relationship between strabismus and refractive errors (69%) and cross eye can be corrected (55%). Moreover, strabismus causes psychosocial difficulties (55%), low self-esteem, and low school performance. Parents of strabismic children believed that their love for their children is not affected due to crossed eyes (53%) and that strabismic children should not be taken to traditional healers (59%). Barriers faced during the management of strabismus are parents' negligence (76%), fear of surgery (34%), and high cost (29%). Doctors are the most used and preferred source of information among parents of strabismic children. Conclusion This study identifies gaps in knowledge, wrong beliefs in society, and the barriers faced by parents of strabismic children. Thus, raising awareness of the importance of detecting and treating strabismus early, avoiding psychosocial complications, and improving children's quality of life.
斜视是一种可逆转的病症，必须在儿童关键时期加以识别和治疗。因此，本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯利雅得斜视儿童家长的知识、态度和行为程度。方法：为此，于2021年8月至2021年11月开展了一项横断面研究，样本为424名在沙特阿拉伯利雅得私立和政府眼科诊所寻求眼科咨询的斜视儿童家长。采用自填式问卷收集数据。问卷包含有关斜视的知识相关问题、信念相关问题、家长在孩子斜视方面面临的障碍问题以及斜视及其治疗的信息来源。使用SPSS数据库版本21（美国纽约州阿蒙克市IBM公司）进行数据分析。P值<0.5用于临床显著性。结果：我们发现，大多数家长知道斜视与屈光不正之间存在关联（69%），且斜视可以矫正（55%）。此外，斜视会导致心理社会困难（55%）、自卑和学业成绩低下。斜视儿童的家长认为，斜视不会影响他们对孩子的爱（53%），且不应将斜视儿童带去看传统治疗师（59%）。斜视治疗过程中面临的障碍包括家长疏忽（76%）、对手术的恐惧（34%）和费用高昂（29%）。医生是斜视儿童家长最常使用和首选的信息来源。结论：本研究发现了知识方面的差距、社会中的错误观念以及斜视儿童家长面临的障碍。因此，提高对早期发现和治疗斜视重要性的认识，避免心理社会并发症，提高儿童生活质量。
