Awareness, Attitude and Practices Regarding Eye Health and Common Eye Problems in Urban Indian Population: A Community-Based Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: India has large share of global blindness and visual impairment. Major factor reported is lack of awareness about eye conditions associated with poorer outcomes in terms of seeking medical help, treatment and prevention. Therefore, increase in awareness and knowledge about eye health will result in improved practices towards eye health and decrease in burden of visual impairment. Aim: To assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) about eye health in urban Indian population. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional community based online survey was done for six months, from July 2020 till December 2020. A self-designed questionnaire was sent via Google forms to people aged 18 years and above. Knowledge, attitude and practice towards eye health and eye diseases i.e., cataract, glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and dry eye, were assessed with respect to age, gender, education, and spectacle usage. Statistical analysis was done using descriptive statistics to summarise the data and inferential statistics Chi-square was used to find association by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Results: Of the total 417 participants, 177 (42.4%) were males and 240 (57.6%) females. Mean age was 32.49 years. All the participants were literates, 226 (54.1%) were graduates and 161 (38.6%) were postgraduates. A total of 370 (88.7%) of them believed eye diseases can be prevented by regular check-ups from ophthalmologists but only 15 (16.48%) of the population aged above 40 years underwent glaucoma screening. A total of 10 (28.5%) of the diabetics underwent DR screening. Conclusion: Most participants were aware and had good knowledge about common eye diseases. This does not correlate with their self-care practices. There is a need for robust health education to increase the level of awareness and to understand the importance of routine eye examinations which help in early detection and treatment, thereby reducing visual impairment in the public.