Abstract
Title
KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE REGARDING EYE DONATION
Author
Nancy Kurien*
Email
nancyblessen@yahoo.com
keyword
Eye
donation, Glaucoma,
Cataract, Trachoma,
Blindness and corneal
transplantation.
Abstract
The problem of blindness all over world is as old as mankind itself. It has been estimated
that every five seconds one individual goes blind in the world. Globally the number of
blind and visually disabled persons is growing rapidly. The leading causes for blindness are
cataract (55%), trachoma (20%), glaucoma (0.8%), malnutrition (2%), and injuries (1.2%).
Childhood blindness is one of the major problems occurring due to optic nerve atrophy
(20%), congenital malformations (15%), infection, and trauma. In India, there are
approximately 120 lakh blind in both eyes and 80 lakh blind in one eye, which is about one
fourth of the total blind population of the world. The diseases of the cornea are one of the
major causes of blindness in India for which the vision can be restored by eye donation.
The number of people awaiting corneal transplant is out numbering the available donor
tissues. Corneal Transplantation is the only effective restoration for the replacement of
human tissues in the eye. Hence the investigator felt the need to conduct a study to assess
the knowledge and attitude of nursing students on eye donation in selected nursing
colleges. The quantitative approach descriptive correlation research design was conducted
for 100 B.Sc (basic) nursing students in private nursing colleges in Jaipur, by adopting
purposive Quota sampling technique. The tool was prepared by extensive review of various
literature. The tool contains 3 sections. Section-A is demographic variables of B.sc
(nursing) student. And section-B includes 45 structured knowledge questionnaires
regarding eye donation and section-c contains 14 questions regarding attitude on eye
donation. The data was collected by structured questioner method. The collected data were
compiled and analyzed with help of descriptive and inferential statistics. The result showed
highest percentage (49%) of the students had average knowledge and only 7% had
excellent knowledge regarding eye donation. The Mean, median and standard deviation of
knowledge questionnaire were 18.67, 20.5 and 5.27 respectively, Majority (72%) of the
students had positive attitude towards eye donation. The Mean, median and standard
deviation of attitude scale were 36.55, 37 and 6.11 respectively, the computed Karl Pearson
correlation co efficient showed that there was a positive correlation between level of
knowledge and attitude score of nursing students towards eye donation and There was no
significant association of knowledge and attitude with demographic variables of the study
at .05 level of significance. Providing support and education to students in health sciences
programs is one means of facilitating the goal of increasing the eye donation available for
transplant in our communities.
