Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar 23:15:1249-1258.
doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S304735. eCollection 2021.

Contact Lens Use Patterns, Behavior and Knowledge Among University Students in Thailand

Chantaka Supiyaphun  1 , Passara Jongkhajornpong  2
Affiliations

Contact Lens Use Patterns, Behavior and Knowledge Among University Students in Thailand

Chantaka Supiyaphun et al. Clin Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Purpose: Little is known about contact lens (CL) use in young generation. This study aimed to investigate the patterns, behavior and knowledge of CL wear and care in Thai university students.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using online questionnaires was conducted during July 2019 to February 2020 in two Rajabhat universities, Bangkok, Thailand. Participant characteristics, CL information, knowledge and behaviors were collected. Factors associated with poor behaviors and CL-related corneal ulcers were analyzed using logistic regression.

Results: Of 493 students participating in the survey, 336 students (66.78%) were current CL users and completed the questionnaires. Mean age was 19.2 ± 1.4 years with female predominance (80.36%). All students wore soft CL with a major replacement schedule of monthly disposable (90.18%). Good CL wear and care behaviors were found in 190 students (56.55%). The most common poor CL behavior and poor CL knowledge were CL overuse (44.64%) and sleeping with lenses (31.85%), respectively. There were no correlations between behaviors and knowledge (r = 0.03). Purchasing lens from internet, wearing experience over one year, and long wear duration (> 12 hours) were significantly associated with poor CL behavior. Male gender and swimming with lens were significantly associated with history of corneal ulcers.

Conclusion: The study pointed out a low compliance of CL wear and care in Thai university students. Good CL practices, awareness of CL-related complications and purchasing place should be carefully informed and regularly stressed to minimize preventable visual damage in young population.

Keywords: Thailand; behavior; contact lens; knowledge; university students.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Konne NM, Collier SA, Spangler J, Cope JR. Healthy contact lens behaviors communicated by eye care providers and recalled by patients - United States, 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(32):693–697. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6832a2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bui TH, Cavanagh HD, Robertson DM. Patient compliance during contact lens wear: perceptions, awareness, and behavior. Eye Contact Lens. 2010;36(6):334–339. doi: 10.1097/ICL.0b013e3181f579f7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wu Y, Carnt N, Stapleton F. Contact lens user profile, attitudes and level of compliance to lens care. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2010;33(4):183–188. doi: 10.1016/j.clae.2010.02.002 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Efron N, Morgan PB, Woods CA; Consortium TICLPS. Survey of contact lens prescribing to infants, children, and teenagers. Optom Vis Sci. 2011;88(4):461–468. doi: 10.1097/OPX.0b013e31820efa0f - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dart JK, Radford CF, Minassian D, Verma S, Stapleton F. Risk factors for microbial keratitis with contemporary contact lenses: a case-control study. Ophthalmology. 2008;115(10):1647–54, 54.e1–3. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2008.05.003 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources