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Parental Awareness of the Preschool Orthoptics Visual Screening in Brunei-Muara District and Factors Contributing to
Sharimawati Sharbini1, Nur Aimi Diyana Awang Damit1, Ted Maddess2
1PAPRSB Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam.
Insights
Many parents are unaware of preschool vision screening programs, leading to missed appointments for amblyopia detection. Improving parental awareness is crucial for children's visual health and educational success.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
Background:
- The preschool orthoptics visual screening program in Brunei Darussalam, initiated in 2004, aims to detect amblyopia (lazy eye).
- Amblyopia, a common yet potentially asymptomatic condition, can lead to irreversible vision loss if not identified and treated early.
- Parental engagement is critical for timely visual screenings, impacting children's overall well-being and academic achievement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate parental awareness of preschool visual screening services.
- To identify the primary reasons behind parental nonattendance at scheduled visual screenings.
- To explore the association between parental awareness, sociodemographic factors, and screening defaults.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 401 parents was conducted in the Brunei-Muara district.
- Data was collected using a self-designed, self-administered questionnaire administered at private kindergartens and maternal and child health clinics.
- Statistical analysis, including descriptive and inferential statistics, was performed using RStudio.
Main Results:
- Over half (52.8%) of parents defaulted on their children's visual screenings.
- Awareness of screening services was low, with only 39.9% of parents knowing about the program.
- Parental employment status (particularly paternal unemployment) and the number of children significantly influenced screening attendance.
Conclusions:
- Lack of awareness and the belief that children see well were the primary reasons for nonattendance.
- Targeted community-based strategies are essential to reduce defaults in child visual screening programs.
- Enhancing parental knowledge is key to improving participation and ensuring early detection of visual impairments.
Background:
The preschool orthoptics visual screening program began in Brunei Darussalam in 2004 to detect amblyopia, a common cause of treatable visual disorders in children. Amblyopia can be asymptomatic, easily missed, and cause permanent adverse visual consequences; hence, it is necessary to be screened. The parental role in ensuring timely visual screening is pivotal to their child's visual well-being and educational success. This study explored parental awareness and reasons for their nonattendance.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study of 401 parents was conducted in the Brunei-Muara district in private kindergarten schools and maternal and child health clinics. A self-designed and self-administered questionnaire was used. Data collected was analysed using RStudio in the form of descriptive and analytic statistics.
Results:
The study findings showed that 52.8% defaulted their screening and there was a significant association between parental awareness and the defaulters (p < 0.05). Only 39.9% of parents were aware of the screening service availability, and 50.1% had not taken their children for an eye check. The most significant sociodemographic factor that influenced awareness of the importance of vision screening was parental employment status (p = 0.013), revealing a 4.43 times higher likelihood of default if the father was unemployed. This study found that with each additional child, parents are 1.25 times less likely to seek eye screening (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
The main reason for nonattendance was a lack of awareness of the situation and parents believed that their children were seeing well. Mitigating child visual screening defaults requires a community-focused approach.
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