Knowledge and attitude towards glaucoma screening and uptake in adults of the rural community of Sekona Ede South Local Government Area, Osun State

Abstract

Introduction: Glaucoma is a group of ocular diseases with multifactorial optic neuropathy. It is second to cataract as the most common cause of blindness. Unlike cataract, the blindness it causes is irreversible. The commonest type of glaucoma is primary open angle type  which is a silent blinding disease. This is the reason for community screening in order to identify it early before blindness sets in. This  study assessed the level of knowledge and attitude towards glaucoma screening and uptake, to determine if any, the association between socio-demographic factors, knowledge, attitude to glaucoma screening and uptake among the people of Sekona community,  Ede South LGA, Osun State, Nigeria.

Methods: A pre-determined sample size of two hundred and fifty respondents was chosen using  multi-stage sampling technique and a descriptive cross-sectional study design. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to  collect data. The data obtained were processed and analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 23. Uni-variate analysis was used and data were  presented using frequency tables and charts. Bi-variate analysis (using Chisquare statistics) was done to determine the relationships  between categorical variables, with CI of 95% and level of statistical significance set at p< 0.05.

Results: Majority (84%) of the respondents were aware of glaucoma and the source of information was minly television (36.70%). Also, most (80%) of the respondents had positive  attitude to screening and majority, 158 (63.20%) had no uptake of screening. There was a significant association between level of  education and knowledge of glaucoma (p=0.05). However, there was no significant association between other socioeconomic factors and  knowledge.

Conclusion: Majority of the respondents had good knowledge of glaucoma and glaucoma screening. Most of the  respondents had no uptake of glaucoma screening. Most of the respondents had good attitude towards glaucoma screening.