Abstract
BACKGROUND: Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, with 60.5 million affected individuals, of whom 11 million are from India. Due to its asymptomatic nature, the disease largely remains underdiagnosed or diagnosed in advanced stages, where little can be done to salvage functional vision. The literature suggests that a lack of knowledge is one of the reasons for its grave consequences. Assessment of awareness is the first step in planning management. Several studies have been conducted in the Indian community, but data from healthcare providers, who play a significant role in educating the masses directly or indirectly, are limited. AIM: To identify awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about glaucoma among healthcare workers in a tertiary center in India. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care institute in Eastern India. Data were collected from 423 participants by systematic stratified sampling after Institutional Ethics Committee approval via a pretested, self-designed, semistructured, validated questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software v22.0. Continuous variables are expressed as the means ± SD for parametric values and medians with interquartile ranges for nonparametric values. The associations between the variables were studied via multivariate linear and logistic regression. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Most respondents were 20-30 years old (n = 345, 81.6%). The knowledge regarding glaucoma was good, and almost 56.3% of the participants gained knowledge from their medical training. The majority were aware that it has a familial predisposition and is secondary to high intraocular pressure, leading to irreversible peripheral vision loss. Only 42% knew about the life-long requirements of treatment. The resident group scored highest on knowledge- and attitude-based questions, whereas the faculty group scored highest on practice-based questions. Although 62% of the nursing staff had good attitude scores, their knowledge and practice scores were lower. The occupation group response difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05) for all the knowledge-based questions. CONCLUSION: Although the majority of healthcare providers are aware of glaucoma, there is a dearth of knowledge about treatment modalities. Education via seminars and media can improve their knowledge, attitudes, and practices.