Development of IIUM knowledge and practices on children eye care questionnaire (IIUM KPC-EYE Q)

In Malaysia, the main causes of visual impairment in children is uncorrected refractive error, which is treatable and preventable. Studies conducted in Swaziland and Saudi Aribia reported that, most parents did not bother to bring their children for eye examination and they believed that routine eye exam is not necessary. As such, it is important to identify the reasons why some parents seek care for their children and others do not. The purpose of this study is to develop a reliable and validated questionnaire that measures the parents’ knowledge and practices on children eye care in Malaysia, namely the IIUM Knowledge and Practices on Children Eye Care Questionnaire (IIUM KPC-EYE Q). By doing this, hopefully more information can be obtained regarding the role of perceptions, practices, and awareness in paediatric eye health among parents. The questionnaire is developed based on extensive literature review and it is a semi-structured question consisting of 3 sections with numerical and categorical score. Subsequently, face and content validity were obtained from the experts. A pilot study was then conducted to investigate the feasibility, readability, consistency of style and formatting, and the clarity of the language used in the questionnaire. Cronbach alpha value were calculated for reliability of each section of the questions (n=100). Internal consistency reliability was determined for 13 items of knowledge and 5 items of practice on the questionnaire; Cronbach Alpha’s value is 0.7 and 0.8 respectively. This indicates good reliability of both instruments, and 75% of the respondents agreed the questionnaire are clear and easy to understand. The questionnaire (IIUM KPC-EYE Q) is currently in phase 1 out of 3 phases. It is a potentially useful tool in assessing parental knowledge and practices on children eye care among Malaysian parents