Impact of organized teaching programme on awareness of mothers regarding prevention of eye problems in children at selected rural areas of Kolar district

Abstract

Background: Depending on the geographical area and socioeconomic state of the population, numerous diseases can cause visual impairment and blindness in children. Blindness in children in underdeveloped nations is typically caused by illnesses that result in corneal scarring such as vitamin A deficiency, measles infection, neonatal conjunctivitis, and dangerous traditional eye medications. Cataract, retinopathy of prematurity, genetic disorders, and congenital anomalies are the most common causes elsewhere. This issue is complicated by a lack of information about eye care and utilization of eye treatments. Methods: For this study, an evaluative technique was applied. The data was collected using a one-group pre-test and post-test design. The organized teaching programme on prevention of eye problems in children was the study's independent variable, while the knowledge level of mothers on prevention of eye problems was the dependent variable. A structured interview schedule was utilized to collect data from 100 mothers who were recruited using the purposive sample technique.Results: In the pre-test, the mean percentage of total knowledge was 56.35, with a standard deviation of 2.37. The mean percentage of total knowledge in the posttest was 75.83, with a standard deviation of 1.37. The obtained t value of 24.70 was larger than the table value of 2.66 and it was judged to be significant at the threshold of 0.01.Conclusions: Study demonstrated that the organized education programme was successful in raising mothers' awareness about the prevention of eye disorders in children.