A Comparative Study on Awareness and Knowledge Regarding Eye Diseases AmongEmployed Populationsof Bangladesh

Abstract

Awareness and knowledge of common eye diseases play an important role in encouraging people to seek treatment for eye problems. This further helps in reducing the burden of visual impairment among the population in a society. In Bangladesh Cataract and Night Blindness are two major eye conditions to look at due to lack of proper education and awareness. The aim of the study was to assess the comparative knowledge of common eye conditions namely Cataract, Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy and Night blindness in our country. A total of 462 employed workers, 237 White Collar and 225 Blue Collar Workers were participated in the study. The knowledge about all the above common eye diseases was moderate, except Diabetic Retinopathy. The awareness of the Cataract of the white collar employee was 94.5%, Night Blindness 95.36%, Diabetic retinopathy 58.3%, and Glaucoma 47.6% whereas the awareness of blue collar employee is 88% Cataract, Night Blindness 96.9%, Diabetic retinopathy 22.78%, and Glaucoma 29.78%. The respondents were knowledgeable about Cataract surgery but 47.68% of white collar employee & only 29.78% of blue collar employee knew about Intra Ocular Lens Implantation. Most of the employee had minimal knowledge about the right treatment of glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. In Diabetic Retinopathy, white collar employee (44.97%) have more knowledge than blue collar employee (64.6%). And the most shocking part is that only 3% of White Collar Employee & 0.9% of Blue Collar Employee knew about right treatment. From the result it was seen that the knowledge of the eye conditions were was not at satisfactory level among the employed population of the country. Increasing the awareness and knowledge of common eye diseases could lead to an increase in understanding and acceptance of the importance of routine eye examination for early detection and treatment of such conditions, thereby reducing visual impairment and cost of eye care.