Knowledge regarding eye flu among students of selected school of Bagmati province, Nepal

Abstract

Background: Eye flu, medically as conjunctivitis is an inflammation of conjunctiva presenting as red eye. It is highly contagious, spreads easily in crowded settings like schools. Frequent school absenteeism has immediate and long-term negative effects on academic performance. Eye flu knowledge is low especially in school students. Objective: The main objective of this study was to find out knowledge regarding eye flu among students of secondary school in Bagmati Province, Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design with quantitative approach was used to assess the level of Knowledge among 76 school students of grade 9 and 10 of Swati Sadan school and College Balaju, Kathmandu, Nepal. Data was collected using self-constructed self- administered semi structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 which are descriptive presented in mean, frequency and percentage in different table. Inferential in chi- square. Result: More than half of the respondents (68.4%) had adequate knowledge regarding eye flu and one third of the respondents (31.6%) had moderate knowledge. There is significantly association of level of knowledge regarding eye flu with the grade (p= 0.001) and father’s occupation (p=0.031). Conclusion: Majority of the respondents have adequate knowledge regarding eye flu. However, prevalence of eye flu varies depending on factors such as the organism, season and age. School based education and awareness programs can be conducted and information education and communication (IEC) material like leaflets, poster can be developed regarding eye flu.

Keywords: Eye flu, Knowledge, School students.