Mahfouz Mohamed Salih, Mahmoud Samy Shaban, Haroobi Saleha Qaseem, Bahkali Latifah Mohammed, Numan Shahad Ibrahim, Taheri Areen Mohsen, Hakami Ohoud Ali, Zunquti Orjuwan Adel, Khered Sarah Mohammed
Family and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan City, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia.
Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Egypt.
Clin Pract. 2024 Nov 20;14(6):2522-2532. doi: 10.3390/clinpract14060198.
Children's eye disorders are a major cause of irreversible vision loss. Delays in diagnosing eye problems in children are recurring problems that require quick attention. This study assesses parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the early ophthalmological screening of preschool-aged children in Jazan, KSA.
An observational cross-sectional study was conducted among 522 parents of preschool-aged children in the Jazan region. A self-administered web-based questionnaire was randomly distributed to the parents via WhatsApp. The survey tool consisted of four main sections: socio-demographic data, knowledge about eye care, attitudes toward eye screening, and eye care practices.
Parents' level of knowledge regarding children's eye care was distributed as follows: low (21.5%), medium (40.2%), and high (38.4%). Parent gender, age, occupation, level of income, and nationality showed no statistically significant association with the knowledge level ( > 0.05 for all). However, parent education played a significant role ( = 0.013). Further, parents expressed a positive attitude toward the early screening of eye problems, as more than 90% agreed that early eye examinations for children reduce complications from visual problems and that the increased use of electronic devices requires early eye examinations. Almost 47.0% of the parents had examined their children's eyes when they were between 1 and 5 years of age, compared with only 10.3% of parents of children less than 1 year of age. The multiple linear regression model for factors that predict knowledge level among the study participants showed that having a child undergo early screening is positively associated with an increased knowledge score ( < 0.05).
Jazan parents showed a positive attitude toward the early screening of eye problems, and one-third had a high level of knowledge regarding children's eye care. However, the proportion of those who practiced early eye screening was low. More health education is necessary to increase parents' awareness regarding early eye care practices.
儿童眼部疾病是不可逆视力丧失的主要原因。儿童眼部问题诊断延误是反复出现的问题，需要迅速关注。本研究评估了沙特阿拉伯吉赞地区父母关于学龄前儿童早期眼科筛查的知识、态度和行为。
在吉赞地区对522名学龄前儿童的父母进行了一项观察性横断面研究。通过WhatsApp向父母随机发放一份基于网络的自填式问卷。调查工具包括四个主要部分：社会人口统计学数据、眼部护理知识、对眼部筛查的态度以及眼部护理行为。
父母关于儿童眼部护理的知识水平分布如下：低水平（21.5%）、中等水平（40.2%）和高水平（38.4%）。父母的性别、年龄、职业、收入水平和国籍与知识水平无统计学显著关联（所有均>0.05）。然而，父母的教育程度发挥了重要作用（P = 0.013）。此外，父母对眼部问题的早期筛查表达了积极态度，超过90%的父母同意儿童早期眼部检查可减少视力问题的并发症，并且电子设备使用增加需要进行早期眼部检查。近47.0%的父母在孩子1至5岁时检查过孩子的眼睛，相比之下，1岁以下儿童的父母中只有10.3%进行过检查。预测研究参与者知识水平的多线性回归模型显示，让孩子接受早期筛查与知识得分增加呈正相关（P<0.05）。
吉赞地区的父母对眼部问题的早期筛查表现出积极态度，三分之一的父母对儿童眼部护理有较高水平的知识。然而，早期眼部筛查的实施比例较低。需要更多的健康教育来提高父母对早期眼部护理行为的认识。
