Parental Ability to Detect Visual or Ocular Anomalies in Their Children

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Children typically depend on their parents to seek eyecare. Visual and ocular disorders can be challenging for parents to identify with the absence of apparent symptoms. This may hinder timely clinical diagnosis for children who need treatment. Parental awareness regarding common paediatric eye and vision anomalies along with eye care seeking behaviour has been reported, but there is a lack of studies that demonstrate parental ability to identify a presenting eye or vision disorder in their own children. AIM: This study aimed to determine parental ability to recognise a significant eye problem in their children. METHODS: The study population consisted of beneficiaries of Jaber Al Ahmad Armed Forces Hospital in Kuwait. Structured history and symptoms were taken from parents and comprehensive eye examinations were conducted for their children. Parental responses were compared to the eye test results to attain the study purpose. RESULTS: A total of 188 parental interviews and 188 eye test results data were collected from 137 parents and their children. Only a few parents (18.1%) were able to detect significant visual or ocular anomalies in their children. One-third of the parents (33%) were under the assumption that the visual or ocular status of their children was within the norm, while the eye test results showed that the children had clinically significant issues. Overall, 41.5% of the entire group of parents were wrong in their assumption about the children’s visual or ocular status. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that a large proportion of parents may not be able to identify a presenting eye disorder in their children. This emphasises the significance of routine eye examinations at an early age.