Management of Eye and Vision Symptoms Caused by Online Learning among College Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

································································································································································································································ Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the vision symptoms and the management of ocular health by college students taking online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: One hundred and twenty college students in Chungnam district participated in an online survey for two months starting in November 2020. The online survey consisted of 24 questions on demographics, history of COVID-19 and online classes, vision symptoms caused by COVID-19, and the management of the eye symptoms, among others. Seven items were used to evaluate each of the categories of vision symptoms and their managementseven, with points ranging from 0 to 4, and the total vision symptom score was calculated. Results: Students who took online classes for a daily average of more than 4 hours and students who had used smartphones for more than 4 hours were 54.0% and 74.6%, respectively. Tired eyes and dry eye symptoms were the most prevalent after online learning, with 1.80±1.10 and 1.63±1.22 points, respectively. Regarding the degree of management of ocular health, intentional blinking to provide a smooth tear film and alleviate dry eye had the highest score (1.75±1.10 points), and eye rest by looking away for 20 seconds during learning had a low score (0.80±0.96 points). Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning with video for more than 4 hours a day has been shown to cause tired eyes and dry eyes. Through the results of this study, we recognize the need for the promotion of and education on techniques for maintaining the eye health in an online learning situation and believe that our results will be used as basic data for preparing management guidelines. ································································································································································································································ 서 론 2019년 12월 발생한 코로나 바이러스 감염증-19(이후 코로나19)가 세계적으로 확산됨에 따라 우리의 일상은 여 러 가지 변화를 맞이하게 되었다. 코로나19의 공식적 정 의는 'SARS CoV-2 감염에 의한 호흡기 증후군'으로, 발 열, 권태감, 기침, 호흡곤란 및 폐렴 등 경증에서 중증까지 다양한 호흡기감염증상을 특징으로 한다. [1] 이러한 코로나 19의 국내 확산으로 대학들은 3월 초 개강을 연기하며 상 황이 좋아지기를 기다렸으나 코로나19의 지역사회 감염 위험이 계속되자 온라인 강의로 수업을 전환하게 되었다. 이후로도 현재까지 거의 모든 수업을 온라인으로 시행하 고 있는 상황이 되었다. 온라인 수업은 대학생에게 시간 및 공간 제약이 없이 학 습할 수 있는 환경과 자기 주도 학습이 가능하도록 긍정 적인 면도 가져왔다. [2] 그러나 이렇게 학습자들이 언제 어 디서나 학습을 하기 위해서는 컴퓨터, 휴대폰 단말기, 태 블릿과 같은 비디오 디스플레이 매체를 사용해야 하며, 이 로 인해 유발될 수 있는 시각적 불편사항에 관심을 가질 필요가 있다. 스마트폰과 영상 매체의 장시간 사용은 양안 융합 버전스 기능에 스트레스를 가져오고, 그 외에도 안구 건조증, 눈 깜박임 횟수의 감소 그리고 안정피로와 같은 눈에 변화를 가져온다. [3-6] 최근 미국검안협회에서는 이러 한 학습자들의 눈 건강관리를 위해서 온라인 학습 상황에 필요한 눈 관리 방안을 발표하였다. [7] 앞으로 코로나19가 종식된 이후에도 온라인 수업은 계 속 이어질 것으로 예측된다. 교육에서도 비대면 교육산업 의 육성이 발표되었고, 공교육 온라인과 ICT 기술이 접목 되면서 에듀테크 산업이 활성화되어 비대면 교육은 점차 확대될 것으로 생각된다. [8] 따라서 여러 방면에서의 교육