Abstract

Background: The visual system of children is immature when born. For healthy vision development to occur, images transmitted to the higher centers must be clear and appropriately focused. A failure in vision development may get unnoticed unless there is an eye examination. This could result in reduced vision, which may be difficult to correct. This survey analysis aims at determining the knowledge and practices of parents about child eye health care in the public sector in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: A self-administered structured questionnaire was randomly distributed among parents of children attending public school. The questionnaire included questions on the knowledge and practice about eye care in addition to socio-demographic data. Data analysis was done through statistical package for the social sciences program version 22.
Results: Parents aging less than 20-year old had better knowledge (2.30 ± 1.418) with p-value = 0.508. Also, university graduates had a better level of knowledge toward eye care (3 ± 1.325) with p-value = 0.06. Also, parents who took their children for an eye examination had a better level of knowledge (2.33 ± 1.818) with p-value = 0.207. However, the overall level of knowledge of parents was considered below average (2.03 ± 1.692) with a maximum score of 7.
Conclusion: The level of knowledge of parents toward eye care of children in Saudi Arabia is considered unsatisfactory. Further studies with larger sample size are required.

Key words: Knowledge; practices; child eye health; Saudi Arabia