Public Awareness And Knowledge About Cataracts, Glaucoma And Diabetic Retinopathy In Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction: Poor health awareness and knowledge of common eye disease lead to postponed diagnosis and seeking health care center for detection of many ocular diseases like cataract, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, which are considered the leading cause of blindness worldwide. Aim of the work: this study aimed to assess the awareness and knowledge for cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy diseases in social media of Saudi Arabia. Material and Methods: a total of 1021 people make an evaluation through internet. Various complaints were incorporated in this study. The data were collected from participants using a structured questionnaire. Questionn[1]aire was done for gathering information on demographics, awareness, knowledge, attitudes and practices related to eye diseases. Results:  in  this  study,  63%  males  and  37%  of  females  were  participated. Majority of the participants (52%) were aware of visual problems, 19.9% were aware of diabetic retinopathy, 2.5% of cataract and 1.2% of glaucoma. The percentage belonged to minimum than 20 years old, 37.5 % belonged to 21 - 30 age group, 22.1 % belonged to 31 - 40 age groups, 14.2 % belonged to 41 - 50 age group, 5.9 % were of 51 and above years of age. Further, 85.7 % of samples belonged to town people and 14.2 % belonged to village groups, 35.6 % of samples gone through secondary school or less education, 60.5% are in graduating from college and 3.9 % of samples were post graduated or qualified higher. Conclusion: the present results showed that there is still a need for health education in the population of this region of Saudi Arabia to increase the level of awareness and knowledge of common eye diseases, through the social media.