Knowledge of Glaucoma amongst Medical and Nursing Final Year Students in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and understanding of glaucoma amongst final year medical and nursing students and to subjectively assess their perception of basic eye examination skills. This was a cross sectional survey using a self-administered pre-tested questionnaire. A total of 238 students with a mean age of 23.2 years, comprising of 102 (42.9%) medical and 136 (57.1%) nursing students took the survey. Almost all the participants had heard about glaucoma with four out of five participants knowing there is treatment for glaucoma. One hundred and sixty-five (69.3%) felt their exposure to basic eye examination was inadequate and this affected their overall confidence in carrying out eye examinations. In conclusion, the soon to be medical professionals had a good knowledge and understanding of glaucoma, however there was a poor level of confidence towards carrying out basic eye examination which needs to be addressed in the current teaching curriculum.