A Descriptive Study to Assess the Awareness and Attitude regarding Eye Donation among Nursing Students of a Selected College of Nursing of District Mohali

 

Ritika Verma¹, Rashmi Choudhary²

¹Assistant Professor, Silver Oaks College of Nursing, Abhipur, Mohali

²Associate Professor, Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali

 

ABSTRACT:

Vision is a person’s most highly valued sense. The concept of donating one’s eyes is still a thought for most people. Most of us can have the privilege of being an eye donor and giving the special gift of sight. The aim of the study was to assess the awareness and attitude regarding eye donation among nursing students. A descriptive approach was selected and 150 nursing students were selected with probability stratified disproportionate sampling technique. Data was collected by using a self administered structured knowledge questionnaire and attitude scale. Analysis of data was done by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Out of 150 nursing students, majority of respondents 49.3% were between the age  21-24 years, 40% were in B.Sc Nursing course, maximum  students i.e.36.7% were from first year, 68.7%  were residing in hostel, 93.3% were unmarried, 70% belongs to nuclear family, 23% were having family income in the range of Rs 15,001-20,000, Educational status of  father of  38.7% students were graduate , educational status of  mother  of 52% students were  matric, 54% received information regarding eye donation from  mass media. The analyzed data revealed that 50.7% nursing students were having poor awareness and 79.3% nursing students were having positive attitude regarding eye donation. There was significant correlation between awareness and attitude among nursing students regarding eye donation. There was significant association of awareness among nursing students regarding eye donation with their age, course, and source of information. Moreover, there was significant association of attitude of nursing students regarding eye donation with their course and religion.

 

INTRODUCTION:

Vision is a person’s most highly valued sense. The eye is a sensitive, highly specialized sense organ. There are 4.9 million people suffering from corneal blindness and are expected to rise to 10.6 million by 2020. Majority of the 4.9 million are young adults who have to spend long blind years even though they have a cure. 

 

Eye donation is an act of donating one’s eyes after his/her death.  It is an act of charity, purely for the benefit of the society and is totally voluntary. The eye donation of the deceased can be authorized by the next of kith & kin even if the deceased did not pledge to donate his / her eyes before death. The front, clear and transparent tissue of the eye called as cornea can be used to restore vision to corneal blind person. The other portions of the eye are also used for research and training   purposes to develop cures for some of the common eye diseases¹.

 

 

Cornea is the most important part of the optical apparatus of the eye as its loss of transparency directly results in loss of vision. The cornea can get damaged through accidents. Children, while playing with sharp objects (e.g. bows and arrows, pen, pencil, etc.) can accidentally damage their cornea. Corneal blindness can also happen to elders. Some of the industrial causes leads to corneal blindness such as chemical burns, flying debris or road accidents. Cornea becomes opaque due to infection, injuries, malnutrition and congenital/hereditary reasons¹.

 

Disease of the cornea is one of the major causes of blindness in India for which the vision can be restored by eye donation. The major cause of corneal blindness include trachoma, corneal ulceration following xerophthalmia due to vitamin A deficiency, ophthalmia neonatorum, and the use of harmful traditional medicines, leprosy, ocular trauma.²

 

Artificial corneas have not yet been developed and hence the only source for cornea is from human beings. The first corneal transplant took place in 1905. Cornea can be removed from a deceased person within six hours of death and can be used for surgery. Artificial cornea has not yet been developed.³ In India, it is estimated that there are 4.6 million people with corneal blindness that is curable through corneal transplantation which can be possible by eye donation.⁴

 

A person can pledge his eyes for donation upon his death. A form is filled and signed, and donor card is issued by the eye bank. The family members should be aware of this pledge as the necessary consent will be provided by them for removal of the eyeball upon death. This is the reason that Family Pledge is being encouraged, wherein all members of a family pledge their eyes together and are aware of each other’s wishes. Consent can also be given by family members even if the person has not signed a donor form.⁵

 

Cornea procurement rate in India is 22,000 per year. To increase procurement of corneas, raising the level of public education on eye donation is an important first step. Soliciting for actual eye donation at the time of death is a necessary and accepted practice. Though the factors affecting procurement of corneas and the public attitude towards eye donation have recently received attention in the developed world however not much has been published from the developing world.⁵ Corneal Transplantation is the only effective restoration for the replacement of human tissues in the eye.⁶

 

OBJECTIVES:

1.     To assess the awareness regarding eye donation among nursing students.

2.     To assess the attitude regarding eye donation among nursing students.

3.     To assess the co-relation between awareness and attitude among nursing students.

4.     To find the association of awareness and attitude of nursing students regarding eye donation with selected socio-demographic variables.

 

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Research approach:

Non experimental descriptive approach was adopted to assess the awareness and attitude regarding eye donation among nursing students.

 

Research design:

A descriptive design was adopted in this study.

 

Research setting:

The setting chosen for conducting main study was  Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali.

 

Target population:

The target population of the study comprised of  all GNM, B.Sc & Post basic nursing students studying at Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali.

 

Sample size and Sampling technique:

In present study, nursing students were selected by probability stratified disproportionate sampling; Sample size was 150 nursing students of Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali excluding those who were taken in pilot study.

 

Ethical consideration:

·       Permission was taken from the ethical committee of Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali prior to data collection

·       Anonymity was ensured to the nursing students.

·       Written approval was taken from the Principal of Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali for the conduction of the study on nursing students.

 

Description of the tool:

The tool consists of three sections:

 

Section 1:

Socio-demographic data consisted of 11 items which includes age, course of study, year of course, religion, residing place, marital status, type of family, family income, education status of father, educational status of mother and source of information . 

 

Section 2.:

A self administered structured knowledge questionnaire was prepared consisting of 24 multiple choice questions for assessing awareness  regarding eye donation among nursing students.

 

Section 3:

Attitude scale (likert scale) consisting of ten items for assessing the attitude regarding eye donation among nursing students. 

Data collection:

Data was collected from 150 nursing students studying at Mata Sahib Kaur College of Nursing, Mohali by using research tool.

 

RESULTS:

Table 1: Distribution of nursing students based on the socio – demographic data      (N=150)

S. No.	Socio-demographic data	(f)	Percentage (%)
1.	Age(in years)
	17-20	71	47.3
	21-24	74	49.3
	≥25	5	3.3
2.	Course of study
	GNM	48	32.0
	B.Sc. Nursing	60	40.0
	Post Basic	42	28.0
3.	Year of course
	First	55	36.7
	Second	49	32.7
	Third	31	20.7
	Fourth	15	10.0
4.	Religion
	Hindu	55	36.7
	Muslim	3	2.0
	Sikh	89	59.3
	Christian	3	2.0
5.	Residing place
	Hostel	103	68.7
	Home	44	29.3
	Paying guest	3	2.0
6.	Marital status
	Unmarried	140	93.3
	Married	9	6.0
	Separated	1	0.7
7.	Type of family
	Nuclear	105	70.0
	Joint	45	30.0
8.	Family income
	≤5000	6	4.0
	5001-10000	32	21.3
	10001-15000	25	16.7
	15001-20000	35	23.3
	20001-25000	28	18.7
	≥25001	24	16.0
9	Educational status of father
	Illiterate	6	4.0
	Primary	6	4.0
	Matric	53	35.3
	Secondary	15	10.0
	Graduate	58	38.7
	Postgraduate & above	12	8.0
10	Educational status of mother
	Illiterate	4	2.7
	Primary	12	8.0
	Matric	79	52.7
	Secondary	24	16.0
	Graduate	26	17.3
	Postgraduate & above	5	3.3
11	Source of information
	Mass media	81	54
	Family members/relatives	39	26
	Friends/peers	15	10
	Health workers	15	10

Table 2: Level of awareness regarding eye donation among nursing students                                                        (N=150)

Level of awareness	Total awareness Score	f	(%)
Very poor	0-6	10	6.7
Poor	7-12	76	50.7
Average	13-18	62	41.3
Good	19-24	2	1.3

Table 2: Indicates that majority (50.7%) of nursing students have poor awareness regarding eye donation.

 

Table 3: Level of attitude of students regarding eye donation                                                                                                                  (N=150)

Level of Attitude	Total attitude Score	f	(%)
Very Negative	0-10	0	0.0
Negative	11-20	4	2.7
Neutral	21-30	18	12.0
Positive	31-40	119	79.3
Very positive	41-50	9	6.0

Table 3: Depicts that the majority (79.3 %) have positive attitude regarding eye donation.

 

Table 4: Correlation of awareness and attitude among nursing students

S. No.	Domains	Mean	S.D.	Karl Pearson correlation(r)	p-value
1.	Awareness	11.9	3.5	0.206*	0.011
2.	Attitude	33.77	4.60

(*Correlation is significant at p <0.05 level)

 

Table 4: Depicts correlation of awareness and attitude by using Karl Pearson correlation is 0.206 which is significant at p<0.05 level.  Hence, it is concluded that there is correlation between awareness and attitude among nursing students.

 

Table 5.1: Depicts significant association (p<0.05) of  awareness among nursing students regarding eye donation with their age, course of study and source of  information whereas  no association of  attitude among nursing students regarding eye donation with year of course, religion, residing place, marital status ,type of family ,family income, educational status of father and educational status of  mother.

 

Table 5.2: Depicts significant association (p<0.05) of  attitude among nursing students regarding eye donation with their course of study and  religion whereas  no association of  attitude among nursing students regarding eye donation with age, year of course, residing place, marital status ,type of family ,family income, educational status of father, educational status of  mother and source of information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 5.1: Association of awareness of nursing students regarding eye donation with their socio demographic variables         (N=150)

 (*- Significant, **- Highly significant, NS- Non significan p<0.05 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 5.2:  Association of attitude of nursing students regarding eye donation with their socio- demographic variables.         (N=150)

S. No	Socio-demographic data	Very negative	Negative	Neutral	Positive	Very positive	Χ2	df	p-value
			(n=4)	(n=18)	(n=119)	(n=9)
1.	Age (in years)
	17-20	-	3(75.0)	9(50.0)	55(46.2)	4(44.4)	5.6	6	0.458NS
	21-24	-	1(25.0)	7(38.9)	61(51.3)	5(55.6)
	≥25	-	0(0.0)	2(11.1)	3(2.5)	0(0.0)
2.	Course of study
	GNM	-	4(100.0)	7(38.9)	36(30.3)	1(11.1)	15.5	6	0.017*
	B.Sc. Nursing	-	0(0.0)	3(16.7)	52(43.7)	5(55.6)
	Post Basic	-	0(0.0)	8(44.4)	31(26.1)	3(33.3)
3.	Year of course
	First	-	4(100.0)	8(44.4)	40(33.6)	3(33.3)	12.4	9	0.191NS
	Second	-	0(0.0)	8(44.4)	37(31.1)	4(44.4)
	Third	-	0(0.0)	1(5.6)	29(24.4)	1(11.1)
	Fourth	-	0(0.0)	1(5.6)	13(10.9)	1(11.1)
4.	Religion
	Hindu	-	2(50.0)	5(27.8)	42(35.3)	6(66.7)	22.9	9	0.006**
	Muslim	-	1(25.0)	0(0.0)	1(0.8)	1(11.1)
	Sikh	-	1(25.0)	12(66.7)	74(62.2)	2(22.2)
	Christian	-	0(0.0)	1(5.6)	2(1.7)	0(0.0)
5.	Residing place
	Hostel	-	3(75.0)	11(61.1)	81(68.1)	8(88.9)	3.35	6	0.764NS
	Home	-	1(25.0)	6(33.3)	36(30.3)	1(11.1)
	Paying guest	-	0(0.0)	1(5.6)	2(1.7)	0(0.0)
6.	Marital status
	Unmarried	-	4(100.0)	17(94.4)	111(93.3)	8(88.9)	0.94	6	0.988NS
	Married	-	0(0.0)	1(5.6)	7(5.9)	1(11.1)
	Separated	-	0(0.0)	0(0.0)	1(0.8)	0(0.0)
7.	Type of family
	Nuclear	-	3(75.0)	10(55.6)	86(72.3)	6(66.7)	2.17	3	0.537NS
	Joint	-	1(25.00	8(44.4)	33(27.7)	3(33.3)
8.	Family income
	≤5000	-	1(25.0)	1(5.6)	4(3.4)	0(0.0)	16.05	15	0.379NS
	5001-10000	-	0(0.0)	3(16.7)	27(22.7)	2(22.2)
	10001-15000	-	2(50.0)	4(22.2)	18(15.1)	1(11.1)
	15001-20000	-	1(25.0)	2(11.1)	31(26.1)	1(11.1)
	20001-25000	-	0(0.0)	3(16.7)	22(18.5)	3(33.3)
	≥25001	-	0(0.0)	5(27.8)	17(14.3)	2(22.2)
9	Educational status of father
	Illiterate	-	0(0.0)	1(5.6)	5(4.2)	0(0.0)	24.11	15	0.063NS
	Primary	-	1(25.0)	0(0.0)	4(3.4)	1(11.1)
	Matric	-	2(50.0)	5(27.8)	45(37.8)	1(11.1)
	Secondary	-	0(0.0)	1(5.6)	11(9.2)	3(33.3)
	Graduate	-	0(0.0)	8(44.4)	48(40.3)	2(22.2)
	Postgraduate & above	-	1(25.00	3(16.7)	6(5.0)	2(22.2)
10	Educational status of mother
	Illiterate	-	0(0.0)	2(11.1)	1(0.8)	1(11.1)	20.27	15	0.162NS
	Primary	-	1(25.0)	1(5.6)	9(7.6)	1(11.1)
	Matric	-	3(75.0)	9(50.0)	64(53.8)	3(33.3)
	Secondary	-	0(0.0)	0(0.0)	23(19.3)	1(11.1)
	Graduate	-	0(0.0)	5(27.8)	18(15.1)	3(33.3)
	Postgraduate & above	-	0(0.0)	1(5.6)	4(3.4)	0(0.0)
11	Source of information
	Mass media	-	0(0.0)	8(44.4)	67(56.3)	6(66.7)	12.8	9	0.170NS
	Family members/ relatives	-	3(75.0)	7(38.9)	28(23.5)	1(11.1)
	Friends/peers	-	0(0.0)	3(16.7)	11(9.2)	1(11.1)
	Health workers	-	1(25.0)	0(0.0)	13(10.9)	1(11.1)

 (*- Significant, **- Highly significant, NS- Non significant p<0.05)

 

 

DISCUSSION:

A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted on “Knowledge and Attitudes towards Eye Donation among Health Professionals” in India. In this, 206 staffs at 2 hospitals were interviewed, including general practitioners, medical students, nurses, and allied medical professionals. The result of the study revealed that twenty five participants (12.1%) had ‘excellent’ knowledge, and ‘poor’ knowledge was noted in 59 participants (28.6%). Knowledge varied according to staff type. ‘Excellent’ knowledge of eye donation was noted for 11 medical students (44%) and 9 postgraduate doctors (36%). ‘Poor’ knowledge was noted for 33 nurses (56%). Awareness of eye donation among health professionals was low. ⁷

 

CONCLUSION:

Present study concluded that majority of nursing students had poor awareness whereas their attitude was positive regarding eye donation.

 

REFERENCES:

1.        Kishor. Eye donation. Available from: URL: http://donateeyes.org/what-is-eye-donation/ .

2.        Krishnaiah S et al. Awareness of eye donation in the rural population of India. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. 52; 2004: 73–78.

3.        Rammohan K. National eye donation day-donate eyes/organ donation. Available from: URL: http://www.karamayog.org/organdonation/organdonation.

4.        Subramanian S. Eyedonation-Sankara, Nethralaya. Available from: URL:  http : / / www . Sankaranethralaya.org/eye-donation.

5.         Saini JS. Realistic Targets and Strategies in Eye Banking. Indian Journal Ophthalmology. 45;1997: 141–142.

6.        Mohan Foundation-Eye donation: Why should we donate eyes,2011 http://www.mohanfoundation.org/eye-donation/why-should-we-donate-eyes.asp.reviewed on 14/01/2013

7.        Gogate B et al. Knowledge of and attitudes towards eye donation among health professionals in India. Asian Journal of Ophthalmology. 10(3); 2008: 171-173.

 

 

 

Received on 31.08.2018         Modified on 12.10.2018

Accepted on 01.11.2018      ©A&V Publications All right reserved