Knowledge and Attitude of Students of Post-secondary Institutions in Kano, Northern Nigeria Towards the Causes and Prevention of Blindness

Abstract

Objective: Blindness is a disabling condition of public health importance in Nigeria. This study assesses the attitude and nowledge of secondary school students, who are mostly adolescents, towards the causes of blindness and its prevention in Kano, Northern Nigeria. The findings of this study will provide important eye health data for this important subgroup of the population as well as identify the gaps in adolescents’ knowledge about eye health which can then be modified or targeted through health education. Method: This cross sectional descriptive study used a multistage sampling method to select 220 secondary school students from 1 girls only secondary school and 1 boys only secondary school located in Tarauni LGA of Kano State in a ratio of 1:1. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 15.5 years with a standard deviation of 2.5 years, and a male: female ratio of 1:1. The level of poor knowledge and attitude about the causes of blindness and its prevention was 62.3% and 58.2% respectively. Conclusion: This study showed that awareness and knowledge of causes of blindness and its prevention were poor among secondary school students. Attitude towards prevention of blindness and perception of respondents regarding the importance of preventing blindness were similarly poor. There is an urgent need to incorporate eye health promotion into secondary school curricula.

Key words: blindness, disability, adolescents, secondary school students, eye health promotion