Parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding strabismus in children

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pediatric Ophthalmology
• Public Health

Background:

• Strabismus significantly impacts children's vision and quality of life.
• Parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) are vital for effective strabismus management.
• Limited research exists on parental KAP regarding childhood strabismus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of parents whose children have strabismus.
• To identify factors influencing parental KAP towards strabismus management.
• To inform the development of targeted educational interventions for parents.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 459 parents of children with strabismus.
• Data collected via a self-designed questionnaire assessing demographic information and KAP scores.
• Statistical analyses included group comparisons and correlation analyses.

Main Results:

• Parents demonstrated low knowledge (mean score: 11.80/20) and practice (mean score: 17.34/25) levels, but high attitude scores (mean score: 37.73/50).
• Parental attitudes were influenced by child's hyperopia, astigmatism, surgical history, and eye patch use.
• Parental practices were associated with education level and child's myopia diagnosis.

Conclusions:

• Parents of children with strabismus possess low knowledge and practice levels, contrasting with their positive attitudes.
• Targeted educational interventions are necessary to enhance parental understanding of strabismus.
• Improving parental education can lead to better strabismus management and outcomes.