Indian Journal of Community Medicine (Apr 2024)

IJCM_230A: Obstacles Faced by Medical Undergraduates Wearing Spectacles In A Medical College In Mangalore

  • Garg Yug,
  • Abraham Roche Varghese,
  • Samhitha D,
  • Sneha J,
  • Holla Ramesh,
  • Motappa Rohith,
  • Unnikrishnan Bhaskaran,
  • Rekha T,
  • Mithra Prasanna,
  • Kumar Nithin,
  • Rao Mithun

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_abstract230
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 49, no. 7
pp. 67 – 67

Abstract

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Background: Spectacle compliance is vital among the young population to combat visual impairment arising from untreated refractive errors. Encouraging spectacle use is crucial, despite the challenges they present, such as fogging, scratches, and discomfort when prescribed wrong Objectives: 1. To study the obstacles faced by medical undergraduates while using spectacles. 2. To find out the various factors associated with the obstacles faced by undergraduates while wearing spectacles. Methodology: The study protocol was submitted for the approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore. After obtaining the approval from ethics committee, permission was obtained from the Dean of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore and data collection was done after receiving informed consent from the participants. A semi- structured questionnaire was distributed to the participants Results: 72.7% faced obstacle of dependency on spectacles and 71.5% faced difficulty of adjusting spectacles with gloved hands. · Out of 60(34.9%) study participants who ride two-wheeler, 21(35%) participants faced difficulties while riding due to spectacle use and wearing helmet(42.8%), glaring(19.1%) and fogging(14.2%) were the major difficulties faced. · Among 54(32%) study participants who drive 4-wheeler, 9(16.6%) participants faced difficulties while driving due to spectacle use and the major difficulties encountered were glaring(55.5%) and restricted field of vision(22.2%). · A statistically significant association with P value of 0.001 was established between duration of spectacle usage and dependency on spectacles Conclusion: Based on our study, we have found that most of the participants have been using spectacles for 1-10 years mainly for correction of refractive errors like myopia and thus use spectacles throughout the day.

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