Knowledge, attitude and practice among parents of children and teenagers towards myopia prevention and control during the COVID-19 epidemic

Abstract

Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess parents' knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards myopia amidst increased children's online course participation during the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially impacting visual health.

Design: The study adopted a cross-sectional design to analyse parent KAP regarding myopia.

Setting and participants: Conducted from 19 August 2022 to 19 October 2022, in the Jinan High-tech District, the study included 3261 participants, comprising 800 males (24.5%).

Interventions: A self-administered questionnaire assessed KAP, with a good KAP defined as a score >75% of the total.

Primary and secondary outcome measures: The KAP scores were the primary outcome measures. The factors associated with a practice score >75% were also investigated.

Results: Parents had mean KAP scores of 10.2±2.4 (10.2/14=72.9%), 41.8±4.9 (41.8/50=83.6%) and 54.3±7.1 (54.3/65=83.5%), respectively. The knowledge scores (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.16, p<0.001), attitude scores (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.17, p<0.001), daily outdoor activities time (30-60 min: OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.84, p=0.001; 1-2 hours: OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.49, p<0.001; >2 hours: OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.34 to 2.74, p<0.001, respectively), and parents whose children did not have myopia progression during the online class (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.96, p=0.024) were independently associated with a practice score >75%, while a child in fourth grade of primary school (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.99, p=0.042), unaware of child's myopia (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.64, p=0.002) and daily electronics usage time >2 hours (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.64, p<0.001) were independently associated with practice scores ≤75%.

Conclusions: The study found that parents showed suboptimal knowledge, positive attitude and proactive practice concerning myopia prevention during the pandemic. Areas requiring improvement include better education for parents of grade 4 students, increased awareness for parents unaware of their child's myopia status and addressing excessive electronic device use among children.

Keywords: Attitude; COVID-19; Knowledge; Myopia.

Figure 1. The score distribution of the ‘attitude’ dimension. The x-axis is the distribution of options (in percentages), and the y-axis is the specific entries. Details of the questions could be found in the KAP questionnaire (online supplemental material). KAP, knowledge, attitude and practice.