KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS REGARDING REFRACTIVE ERRORS IN SCHOOL CHILDREN IN BENIN CITY

ABSTRACT

Refractive errors in school children, encompassing conditions like myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, hold the potential to significantly affect a child’s academic performance and overall well-being. Early identification of these problems and the implementation of suitable interventions are imperative for ensuring a child’s successful educational journey. Primary school teachers, being the initial point of contact in a child’s educational path, play a crucial role in recognizing and addressing potential visual impairments in their students. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and attitude of primary school teachers regarding refractive errors in school children in Benin City. A total of sixty-five (65) participants participated in this study, majorly between the ages of 24 and 28 years with a mean age of 30.31 ± 6.58 years and a gender distribution of 51 females (78.5%) and 14 males (21.54%). The results of this study showed that majority of the participants (80.78%) had a good knowledge of refractive errors. Also, most of the participants described refractive error as blurry vision (n = 50; 39.1%). Furthermore, smaller percentage described it as being unable to focus on objects clearly (n = 36; 28.1%). In addition, a large number of participants demonstrated favourable attitudes (82.01%) towards the prevention and management of these visual conditions among their pupils. Moreover, majority of the participants strongly agreed that complications of refractive error can be prevented (n = 61; 93.8%). There was a statistically significant relationship between the participants’ knowledge of undetected refractive errors and their gender (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant relationship between any of the participants’ attitudes towards refractive errors and their socio-demographics (p > 0.05). In conclusion, this study showed that a majority of primary school teachers possess good knowledge and hold favorable attitudes towards addressing refractive errors among school children in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Keywords: knowledge, attitude, refractive errors, primary school teachers.