Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Public Health Nursing, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Undiagnosed and uncorrected refractive errors in childhood can negatively affect
the development of vision and cause students to have low academic success and even quit school
before graduation. This study aims to determine the effects of an eye health promotion program on
the health protective behaviors of primary school students.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This experimental study using a pretest‑posttest design with a control
group was conducted in three public primary schools in Aydın, a city in the Western Anatolia Region
of Turkey, between April and November 2014. The eye health promotion program was provided by the
researchers to the experimental Group 2 days in 4 weeks. The data were analyzed using the t‑test,
Chi‑square analysis, the Mann–Whitney U‑test, the Wilcoxon signed‑rank test, and the McNemar test.
RESULTS: The average age of the students was identified as 9.0 ± 3.64 years. The students
wearing glasses all in the experimental group and 53.3% in the control group were found to always
wear their glasses after the education program was completed (P < 0.05). These students, 97.9%
in the experimental group and 58.1% in the control group underwent eye examinations from an
ophthalmologist (P < 0.05). The eye health protective behaviors of the experimental group were
found to have positively changed in the final follow‑up, compared to the control group (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: The eye health promotion program was found to be effective in improving eye health
protective behaviors within the experimental group.
Keywords
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