Awareness and knowledge of emergent ophthalmic diseases among non medical students

Abstract

This study was done to assess the awareness and knowledge of 3 emergent ophthalmic diseases - retinal detachment, central retinal arterial occlusion, acute angle closure glaucoma among non medical students. It is important to assess their spectrum and presentation to prevent irreversible blindness. A questionnaire based study was done among 201 non medical students to assess their knowledge about these emergent ophthalmic diseases. It includes one (yes/no) question for assessing the awareness. To test the knowledge, 3 questions were asked regarding symptoms treatment and complications separately for every emergent ophthalmic disease. Analysis was done using google forms in this study. Descriptive statistics were represented using bar graphs and tables for better understanding. A total of 201 non medical students were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 23.24 approximately. Only 42 of 201 were aware of acute angle closure glaucoma (20.9%) and 44 (29.1%) were aware of retinal detachment. There was not much difference in level of awareness between these two conditions but it was significantly lower in case of CRAO. Only 27(13.4%) of 201 were aware about CRAO. Almost 85.6% were not aware about the blindness caused by CRAO, 81.6% were not aware about the blindness caused by RD and 79.1% were not aware about the blindness caused by AACG. In this study we found that level of awareness and knowledge of emergent ophthalmic diseases were very low among non medical students. Hence, efforts should be made to promote health education regarding these ocular emergencies. This will not only help the young people to screen themselves promptly but also spread awareness about these conditions to their friends and relatives.