Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Eye Health among Basic School Teachers in Talensi District

Abstract

Background: Vision is very important in early child development. Teachers perform critical roles in delivering school-based eye health interventions for school children, or school eye health programmes. In that regard, this study sought to examine the knowledge, attitude and practices of eye health and their associated factors among basic school teachers in the Talensi district of Ghana. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 220 teachers in the Talensi district. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from participants. Data was collected on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and practices regarding eye health. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with adequate knowledge at 95% significance level. Results: Two hundred and twenty teachers participated in this study with a mean age of 35.2 (6.11). The main eye conditions known to the teachers were myopia (79.1%), glaucoma (73.2%) and cataract (68.2%). Overall, only 35.5% had adequate knowledge on eye health, 71.4% showed good attitude towards eye health and 69.1% had good eye health practices. The main sources of information on eye health were from health personnel (77.3%), workplace (26.4%) and television/radio (20.0%). Male teachers were nine times more likely to have adequate knowledge compared to their female counterparts [AOR= 9.12; 95% CI: 3.44-24.18; p<0.001]. Furthermore, teachers with postgraduate education were also four times more likely to have adequate knowledge of eye health conditions compared to those with diploma education [AOR= 9.12; CI: 3.44-24.18; p<0.001]. Conclusion: Though adequate knowledge on eye health was low, there was good attitude and practices towards eye health among the teachers. Sex and education were significant factors associated with adequate knowledge on eye health among the teachers.