An innovative approach to create glaucoma awareness and its impact among the general population

Abstract

Purpose: To create awareness about glaucoma through a novel exhibition and also to assess the impact of the same among the participants. Materials and Methods: An innovative three-dimensional click art exhibition was designed to create awareness about glaucoma among general public at Puducherry beach, during the World Glaucoma Week, 2019. The exhibition was also used to screen visitors for glaucoma, and a questionnaire-based survey was conducted to assess the impact of exhibition in creating glaucoma awareness. Results: Twenty thousand people visited the exhibition. A total of 2198 people were screened for glaucoma, of which 106 (4.8%) were found to be glaucoma suspects and were referred to the base hospital. Twenty-two out of 106 (20.75%) glaucoma suspects presented to the hospital during March 2019, of which 12 (54.5%) were confirmed to have glaucoma. A total of 531 people took up the 10-point questionnaire out of which 273 (50.1%) people answered eight or more questions correctly. Conclusion: Innovative approaches to create awareness about glaucoma can significantly aid in increasing the awareness and knowledge about glaucoma in general population.

Keywords

• glaucoma awareness
• glaucoma knowledge
• innovative exhibition
• world glaucoma week