Schoolchildren's Experience of Myopic Prevention and Progression: A Qualitative Study

Chiang, Vico C. L.

Monday, 22 July 2013: 1:50 PM

Vico C. L. Chiang, PhD, MHA, GDip Mgt Studies, BN, RN, MACN, Pi Iota, FHKAN (Critical Care)
Tutti Y. T. Kong, BA (Hons)
Mark C. F. Lee, BSSc
Winvy M. H. Tam, BBA
Cecilia W. S. Wong, BSc
School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Learning Objective 1: The learners will be able to outline what is the experience of primary schoolchildren regarding myopic prevention and progression?

Learning Objective 2: The learners will be able to describe and discuss the dynamics of knowledge, attitude and practice,and barriers, of schoolchildren regarding myopic prevention and progression.

Purpose:

Previous studies about myopia have focused on prevalence and risk factors of myopia and the researchers have found these matters to be more severe among children in the East Asian countries. This study aimed to explore the experience of schoolchildren regarding the interplay and dynamics of their knowledge, attitude and practice, and possible barriers, in the prevention and retardation of myopia.

Methods:

This study employed a qualitative descriptive design. Interviews were conducted in three focus groups with a total of 26 primary school Year 5 students involved. The data were analyzed with qualitative content analysis which was aided by a computer-aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS – NVivo 9).

Results:

Misunderstanding, misbelieve and misbehavior (The 3M Barriers Model) were founded to be the key issues that interacted and impacting on the prevention and retardation of myopia among schoolchildren.

Conclusion:

With these results, recommendations are made for better focuses in future health promotion activities that aim to prevent or retard the progression of myopia.

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