Knowledge and Attitude on Eye Donation among Selected
Rural and Urban Higher Secondary School Students, Ernakulam
District
Mr. Arun Kumar S K1,
Miss. Ganga Anil Kumar2, Miss. Jasna Jayadevan2, Miss. Juby
Biju2
1Lecturer,
Amrita College of Nursing, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Deemed University, Health Sciences Campus,
Kochi-41.
2IV Year B.Sc Nursing Students, Amrita College of Nursing, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Deemed
University, Health Sciences campus, Kochi-41
*Corresponding
Author Email: arunkumarsk@aims.amrita.edu, nursingcollege@aims.amrita.edu, arunskmangattu@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
Background:
In the present
scenario it is essential to enhance the awareness regarding eye donation among
the potential donors in an effort to increase the procurement of corneas.
Well-informed higher secondary school students could be expected to influence
eye donation rates. The aim of study
was to determine whether knowledge and attitudes towards eye donation among
higher secondary school students differ according to geographical location. Materials
and Methods: The study was a comparative, questionnaire-based, cross-sectional
survey of higher secondary school
students from selected rural and urban schools of Ernakulam
district conducted in November 2015. A total of 160 higher secondary school students of age 16-18
years were participated in the present study. Eighty sample selected from
Amrita Vidyalayam, Kunnumpuram
and 80 from Bhgavathivilasam Higher Secondary School,
Nyarambalam. Structured questionnaires were employed to collect data such as
demographic characteristics and knowledge on eye donation. Level of attitude on eye donation was
measured by a five point likert scale prepared by the investigators. Collected
data were analyzed using descriptive and
inferential statistics. Values for P less than .05 were considered
statistically significant. Results: The mean level of knowledge score on
eye dentation
of urban higher secondary secondary school students was 10.06 +/- 2.834 and that of
rural higher secondary school students was 8.15+/-1.93. The mean level of
attitude score of urban higher secondary school students was 60.09+/- 9.24 and
that of rural higher secondary school students was 59.03+/-8.93. There was a
significant difference in knowledge on eye donation among rural and urban higher secondary school
students (Independent t test score = 4.989 at p=0.001). The investigators did not observe any significant
difference in attitude towards eye donation among rural and urban higher
secondary school students. Highly significant association between age of urban
higher secondary school students and level of knowledge on eye donation was
observed at at p ≤ 0.05 (χ2=11.51
p=0.009) and there was no significant association between demographic variables
of rural higher secondary students and their knowledge level on eye donation.
Significant association was observed between attitude towards eye donation and
educational status of the mothers of urban higher secondary students at p
≤ 0.05 (χ 2 = 11.92 p=0.036). There was no significant
association between demographic variables of rural higher secondary students and
their attitude level. Conclusion: The study concluded that the both
the rural and urban higher secondary school student had severe lack of
knowledge regarding eye donation. While comparing knowledge level
the findings from present study revealed that urban higher secondary school
students had higher knowledge level than that of the rural higher secondary
school students, but in case of attitude there was no considerable difference.
The deficit in knowledge on eye donation
of respondents may be justified by the
lack of information about this significant issue.
KEYWORDS: Knowledge,
attitude, eye donation, rural, urban, higher secondary school students.
INTRODUCTION:
“The eyes
have one language everywhere”
George Herbert
Every five
seconds one person in the world goes blind and one child goes blind every
minute [1]. It is estimated that over seven million people become blind every
year [2]. Blindness is one of the major public health problems in the
developing countries and one out of every three blind people in the world lives
in India [3]. A Corneal blind can gain vision only when an eye donor donates a
healthy cornea [4]. The corneal transplantation is the most successful amongst
organ transplants. It has 95% success rates after the surgery [5]. The first
"successful" human to human corneal transplant was done in 1903 in
present day Czechoslovakia by Zirm to visually
rehabilitate a patient who had suffered a burn. Since then, the technique of
corneal transplantation has undergone changes and been transformed into a
clinically acceptable procedure benefiting the corneal blind. The eye banking
movement, since 1944, has spread worldwide. In India, the first eye bank was
started in Chennai in 1945. There are over 124 eye banks, of which only 27
collect more than 50 eyes a year. There is severe lack of donor eyes in India
and only about 20,000 operations are being performed every year, while 30,000
new victims are added each year to the long list of blind people waiting to be cured
[6].
Nearly 10
million people die in India very year, sadly the corneal donation does not
exceed more than a few thousand. As the current rate of procurement of donor
cornea is only about 22,000 per year, the backlog of corneal transplantation is
growing [7]. Eye donations are dependent on people willingness to
pledge their eyes for donation and on the relatives to honour
that pledge upon death of the person [8]. The reasons for the very low number
of eye donation in India are lack
of awareness among the general public, insufficient facilities in the
institutes and hospitals, absence of motivation even among trained personnel,
and social and religious myths. Many of us are not even aware of the needs
and benefits of eye donation. On the contrary there are many myths that are
disseminated rapidly. A lack of awareness becomes a major obstacle to convince
and obtain consent. Ironically the impact of the shortage of donor eyes is most
glaring in developing conservative countries like India, where corneal blindness
accounts for a large proportion of curable blindness [9].
In the present scenario it is essential to
enhance the awareness regarding eye donation among the potential donors in an
effort to increase the procurement of corneas. In the long term, the optimum
public health approach would be to reduce the recurrence of corneal blindness
with effective preventive strategies, but in the short term the main way to
deal with corneal blindness is to procure more corneas for transplantation [10].There are many cross sectional eye donation
awareness studies done on rural and urban population and high school
students . Whereas this study was focused to compare the level of knowledge and
attitude on eye donation among rural and urban higher secondary school
students. Well-informed higher secondary students could be expected to influence
eye donation rates. If they are educated about different aspects of eye
donation, they can act as important present and fture
motivators. The aim of
study was to determine whether knowledge and
attitudes towards eye donation among higher secondary school students differ according to geographical location.
MATERIAL
AND METHODS:
A
descriptive comparative study design was selected for the present study. The
study was conducted in Amrita Vidyalayam, Kunnumpuram Kochi (situated in Urban area, Ernakulam district) and Bhagavathivilasam
Higher secondary school, Nayarambalam (situated in
Rural area, Ernakulam district). The setting was
chosen for convenience of sample. A total of 160 higher secondary school
students studying in 11th and 12th standard with the age group of 16
– 18 years who met inclusion criteria were selected from Amrita vidyalayam, Kunnumpuram, Ernakulam district and Bhagavathivilasam
Higher secondary school, Nayarambalam Ernakulam district. The data was collected from 2nd
November 2015 to 10th November 2015. The study samples
were selected based on the inclusion criteria using purposive sampling
technique. After obtaining the permission from the school authorities, the
school was visited as per pre-planned schedule for getting information from the
higher secondary school students. Mutually suitable days of the week were fixed
when the students had games classes or other non-academic classes. On the
appointed day the eligible students were gathered in a class room and were made
to sit at a fair distance from each other to avoid peeping and discussion. The
subjects were assured about anonymity and confidentiality of the information
provided by them and informed consent was taken. Approximately 30-35 minutes
were taken by the subjects to complete the tool. The collected data was entered
in master sheet and coded and analyzed using descriptive and inferential
statistics.
RESULTS:
Among the
80 urban higher secondary school students a majority of the sample 45 (56.3%)
were between the age group of 17-18 years and
43 (53.8%) were females. Majority of the subjects 49 (61.3%) were from
11th class. Regarding educational status of the mother 40
(50.0%) subjects’ mothers had under graduation. Majority of the
subject’s father 45 (58.8%) had private job . Majority of the subject's family 45 (56.3% ) had a
monthly income of R.S >15000. Regarding source of information about eye
donation 26 (32.5 %) got information through
internet and. 22 (27.5) got information through television. Among the 80
rural higher secondary school students most
of the subjects 59 (73.8 %) were between the age group of 14-16 years
and a majority of the sample 46 (53.8%) were females. Most of the subjects 60
(75%) were from 11th class. Regarding educational status of the
mother 34 (42.5%) had primary education.. Regarding occupation of father 29
(36.3%) were self employed. Most of the
subjects’ family 59 (73.8%) had a monthly income of less than R.S 5000. Twenty four (30%) subjects got information about eye
donation through television and 23 (28.8%) got information through internet.
Figure 1
illustrates that 38 ( 47.5 %) had below average level of knowledge on eye donation and 26 (32.5%) had
average level of knowledge . Twelve (15%) belonged to poor level of knowledge
on eye donation and only 5% (15 )of
urban higher secondary school students had good knowledge regarding eye
donation.
Figure 1: Bar diagram indicating percentage
distribution of urban higher secondary school students according to level of
knowledge on eye donation
Figure 2
illustrates that a majority of the subjects 50(62.5 %) had below average
knowledge on eye donation and 7( 8.8%) had
average level of knowledge. Twenty two (27.5%) had poor level of
knowledge on eye donation and only 1 (1.3%) had good knowledge regarding eye
donation.
Figure 2 : Bar diagram indicating percentage
distribution of rural higher secondary school students according to knowledge
on eye donation.
Table 1:
Mean and standard deviation of level of knowledge on eye donation among
rural and urban higher secondary school students (N=160)
|
Area of
residence |
N |
Mean |
Sd |
t |
P |
|
Urban |
80 |
10.06 |
2.834 |
4.989** |
0.001 |
|
Rural |
80 |
8.15 |
1.93 |
||
|
t(158)=3.3531 **Significant at
p ≤ 0.05 |
|||||
Table1depicts
that the mean knowledge score on eye donation of urban higher secondary school
students was 10.06 and that of rural higher secondary school students was 8.15.
As the calculated test statistic value 4.989 is higher than the table value at
p =0.001, there was a highly significant difference in level of knowledge on
eye donation between rural and urban higher secondary school students.
Figure 3: Bar diagram indicating percentage
distribution of urban higher secondary school students according to level of
attitude on eye donation.
Figure 4
illustrates that most of the subjects 67 (83.8%) had favorable level of
attitude towards eye donation and 13 (16.3%) had unfavorable attitude regarding
eye donation.
Figure 4: Bar diagram indicating percentage
distribution of rural higher secondary school students according to level of
attitude on eye donation.
Figure 5
illustrates that most of the subjects 70 (87.5%) had favorable attitude and 10
(12.5%) had unfavorable attitude regarding eye donation.
Table 2: Mean and standard deviation of level of
attitude on eye donation among urban and rural higher secondary school students
|
Area of residence |
N |
Mean |
Sd |
T |
P |
|
Urban |
80 |
60.09 |
9.240 |
0.548ns |
0.584 |
|
Rural |
80 |
59.03 |
8.935 |
t(158) =1.6546 ns = not significant at p ≤ 0.05
Table 4
depicts that mean attitude level on eye donation of urban higher secondary
school students was 60.09 and rural
higher secondary school students was 59.03. As the calculated test statistic
value 0.548 less than the table value at p ≤ 0.05 there was no
significant difference on level of attitude on eye donation between rural and
urban higher secondary school students. In the present study there was significant association between age of urban
higher secondary school students and level of knowledge on eye donation at p
≤ 0.05 (χ2=11.51 p=0.009) and there was no significant
association between demographic variables of rural higher secondary students
and their knowledge level on eye donation. Significant association was observed
between attitude towards eye donation and educational status of the mothers of
urban higher secondary students at p ≤ 0.05 (χ 2 = 11.92
p=0.036). There was no significant association between demographic variables of
rural higher secondary students and their attitude level.
DISCUSSION:
The
awareness regarding eye donation should be increased so that the public’s
attitude would be more favorable to facilitate an increase in the number of
corneas available for transplantation. The statistics on eye donation in India shows
that there is a considerable and constantly growing backlog of corneal
transplantation. In the present study the investigators identified that both
the rural and urban higher secondary school student had sever lack of knowledge
regarding eye donation. Only 5% (15) of urban
higher secondary school students had good knowledge regarding eye donation
and 1 (1.3 %) rural higher secondary sschool
students had good knowledge regarding eye donation. Comparing rural and urban
higher secondary school students urban higher secondary school students had slightily higher level of knowledge on eye donation than
that of rural higher secondary school students. The
following studies supports the findings of the current study: S. Krishnaiah, V Kovai, R Nutheti, R Thomas, conducted a study on awareness of eye
donation in the rural population of Indian 7775 subjects of all ages respective
of the rural population of Andhra Pradesh, result shows that out of 30.7% only
0.1% had pledged their eyes, that is one third of those aware of eye donation
have not pledged their eyes an addition 50.6% needed more information to
decide, it means only about one fifth of those aware of eye donation have
pledged their eyes.[11] Another study conducted by Biswas
J, Bandyopadhyay S, Das D, Mondal
KK, Saha I, Ray B on awareness of eye health care and
eye donation among secondary level school students of North Kolkata concluded
that media publicity to increase awareness of eye donation and eye health care
is not enough. Strategies have to be developed to educate the students, so that
they can act as motivators for enhancing eye donation and increasing eye health
care awareness in the community [12].
In the
present study both rural and urban higher secondary school students had favourable
attitude towards eye donation even though there were deficiency in knowledge
related to eye donation. Sixty seven (83.8%) urban had higher secondary school
students had favourable level of attitude on eye donation and 70 (87.5%) rural higher secondary school students had
favourable attitude towards eye donation.
The study concluded that comparing level of attitude towards eye
donation there was no considerable difference between rural and urban higher
secondary school students. The following study contradicts the findings of the
current study: A cross sectional study done by Simon George and Prashob Mohan on awareness, knowledge and attitude to eye
donation among the residents of Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala State, India concluded that although Thiruvananthapuram
has a high level of awareness about eye donation, significant number of people
are unwilling to donate their eyes mainly due to their misconceptions [13]. It
is expected that the number of individuals with unilateral corneal blindness in
India will increase to 10.6 million by 2020 [14]. So long as there is a properly documented
will of the donor and written consent of relatives, no law prevents removal of
donor eyes for corneal grafting. Higher secondary school students are the
future citizens for the country. If they are sufficiently got educated about
eye donation they can spread the message among their friends and family
members. Thus they will act as important motivators and ultimately enhance eye
donation rates in our country.
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Received on
15.06.2016 Modified on
29.06.2016
Accepted on
17.07.2016 © AandV Publications all
right reserved
Asian J. Nur. Edu. and Research.2016;
6(4): 471-475.
DOI:
10.5958/2349-2996.2016.00088.4