Knowledge and awareness of glaucoma in a population of Abha, Southern Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Glaucoma is a disease that results in a painless elevation of intro ulster pressure (IOP), which can lead to progressive optic nerve damage and visual field loss. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), glaucoma is the second leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. It is certain that understanding the disease and knowing the people most susceptible, such as those with chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension may help treat the condition and check it regularly to avoid irreversible blindness. This study was done to measure the extent of people's awareness and knowledge about glaucoma. The study was cross sectional and used a questionnaire to find about the awareness of glaucoma among the residents of Abha. The sample size was 1563. It was conducted within 2 months of taking ethical approval and informed consent. Data was analyzed by statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) program, version 22. The study results showed that around 77.1% of the respondents had heard about glaucoma. Of the 1563 participants, the majority were women and they constituted 81.0%. Nearly 88.3% replied that glaucoma may lead to blindness and 86.9% agreed that early screening helps avoid the complications of glaucoma. Although just 5.4% did glaucoma screening, 43.0% concurred that this blindness can be treated. Current research evaluated the awareness and knowledge of glaucoma among the residents of Aseer. Good awareness level regarding glaucoma was found among 725 respondents (46.4%) and 53.6% had poor awareness.