Attitudes and Beliefs of Undergraduate Students to Spectacle Wear in Ghana

Abstract

Background: There are many psychosocial perceptions attributed to the wearing of spectacles among young adults. It is however unclear what these factors are in Ghana. The purpose of the study was to determine the psychosocial perception of Ghanaian undergraduate students to spectacle wear. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study took place at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Participants were undergraduates of the institution. Ninety students were conveniently sampled from each of the six colleges (total of 540) of the University. Forty students were excluded because they either did not respond or provided incomplete answers to the questionnaires. Data on participants’ demographics, eye-care-seeking behaviours, knowledge of refractive errors and their correction, and perception and attitude to spectacle wear, was collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. Pearson chi-squared test was used to investigate associations between gender and outcome variables and a p-value < 0.05 denoted statistically significant associations. Results: Five hundred students [Mean Age: 21.51±1.93 years; Age Range: 17-32 years; Male: 202(40.4%)] participated in the study. There was an association between sex and history of spectacle wear (p= 0.001). 75.8% respondents knew about refractive errors and 36.3% of the respondents cited spectacles as the major method of correction. 186 (37.2%) participants had been told they needed spectacle correction, but 23 (12.4%) of this number neither had nor wore spectacles. Financial constraints was cited as the chief reason (39.1% participants) for not getting spectacles. Aesthetic and cosmetic reasons would most likely underpin the wearing of spectacles in 64.8% of the participants. Conclusion: Compliance to spectacle wear is a necessary step in reducing the socioeconomic burden of visual impairment from refractive errors. Counselling and education about refractive errors in schools and colleges by stakeholders would help in dispelling the myths and misconceptions about spectacle wear, even among the educated population. Keywords: Refractive errors; Spectacle wear; Attitudes; Beliefs; Psychosocial perceptions; Undergraduate students; Ghana