Effect of Health Education on Parents' Knowledge and Practices Caring for Children with Myopia

Background: Myopia is a prevalent visual impairment that necessitates appropriate treatment and preventative measures, particularly for children. The current study aimed to determine the effect of health education on parents' knowledge and practices regarding the care of their children with myopia. Methods: A quasi-experimental research design was used for this study. This study was conducted at the ophthalmology clinics at Sohag University Hospitals. A convenience sample of all (200) parents and their children with myopia was enrolled in the study over a period of six months from the previously mentioned setting. Two tools were used for data collection. The Tool I was a structured interview questionnaire (used for pre-test and post-test data). It consisted of four parts: Part 1: Parents' personal data. Part 2: Children's personal data. Part 3: Children's medical history. Part 4: Parents’ knowledge regarding myopia. Tool II assessed parents' reported practices regarding myopia, also administered as a pre-test and post-test. Results: The study demonstrated that health education had a significant effect on improving participants' mean knowledge and practice scores. Notable improvements were observed in post-intervention. A statistically significant correlation was found between parents' total knowledge and practices regarding the care of their children with myopia, both pre- and post-health education. Conclusion: Health education had a positive effect on improving parents' knowledge and practices regarding the care of their children with myopia. Recommendation: Continuous health education programs for parents must be recommended to improve knowledge and practices about myopia management. The study should be replicated to generalize the results to a wider population.