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October 22, 2020
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Survey: Parents underinformed about their children’s eye health

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Results from two recent surveys indicate that parents tend to take a reactive rather than proactive approach to their children’s eye care and that their knowledge of myopia complications and management is lacking.

In the first half of this two-part review, we examined the opinions of eye care professionals regarding myopia and its management. This second half presents the findings of two recent surveys that examined the understanding and attitudes of U.S. parents.

The Harris Poll and the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC) surveys, sponsored by CooperVision, examined the behaviors, beliefs and attitudes of U.S. parents regarding the visual health of their children.

Harris poll

Demographics. Parents who participated in the Harris Poll were an average of 44 years old, and 56% were women. Myopia was the most common ocular condition among parents (43%), followed by astigmatism (25%) and hyperopia (18%). Fifty-one percent of parents wore glasses, and 22% wore contact lenses as their primary mode of vision correction.

Jennifer Palombi, OD, FAAO
Jennifer Palombi
Justin Kwan, OD, FAAO
Justin Kwan

On average, parents from the Harris poll had two children 8 to 15 years old, and the average age of children was 12 years. One-fourth of children were myopic. Among myopic children, 78% wore glasses, 13% wore soft contact lenses, and 3% wore orthokeratology contact lenses as their primary modes of vision correction.

Key findings. The Harris poll found that parents are poorly informed about their children’s eye health and take a reactive rather than a proactive approach to visiting eye care providers, but show interest in contact lenses for children.

Although parents may place a relatively high importance on their children’s eye health, parents are underinformed about conditions like myopia. Almost half (48%) of parents admitted that they know less about their children’s eye health than they should.

In general, parents understood that pediatric myopia can get worse over time (74%). However, fewer parents were aware that myopia can lead to significant eye complications later in life (53%). Likewise, parents were less aware that appropriate management may slow the progression of myopia (62%). Remarkably, 79% of parents were unaware that the progression of myopia among children cannot be reversed.

While some parents may develop a habit of taking their children for regular eye exams, parents initially take a reactive approach to their children’s eye health. The main reasons reported for prompting an ECP visit were recommendation by a pediatrician (32%), squinting (22%) or a school screening (22%). Almost half of parents (46%) wished they had spoken with an ECP sooner about their child's vision.

As might be expected, parents may have reservations about their children’s current ability to wear contact lenses, but many parents show interest in contact lenses for children. Three-fourths of parents indicated that if their children were found to be myopic they would be interested in contact lens options.

GMAC survey

Demographics. The GMAC survey polled 4,004 U.S. parents. Most were 35 to 44 years old, and 50% were women. Myopia was the most common ocular condition among parents (35%), followed by astigmatism (28%) and hyperopia (22%). One-fifth of children were myopic.

Key findings. The GMAC survey found that parents deprioritized vision in their children’s overall health; parents ranked annual visits to an ECP as less important than visits to the dentist or pediatrician. This mindset was reflected by the fact that only 27% of parents had taken their children to an optometrist in the last 12 months.

Instead of regular visits to ECPs, parents reported that they would wait until symptoms appeared before they might consider taking their child to an eye doctor.

Additionally, parents who had children with myopia also showed an increased likelihood of asking about myopia management, mainly because they were already taking their children to their ECP on a regular basis (7% increase). The most impactful message discussed the availability of new myopia management options.

Discussion

Regardless of how important parents consider their children’s eye health to be, they initially take a reactive approach to eye care. Parents rely on pediatricians, staff at their children’s schools and the appearance of symptoms to prompt eye care visits. Many parents regret not speaking with an ECP sooner.

Whether or not parents are confident in their knowledge of their children’s eye health, they are usually underinformed on key points. Half of parents are unaware that myopia can cause significant complications later in life. Many are unaware that management options can slow myopia progression. Nevertheless, many parents would be interested in their children using contact lenses to manage the progression of myopia.

Parents believe that they are already doing what they need to for their child’s eye health but do not prioritize routine comprehensive eye exams. Impactful messages for behavior change include discussion of parents’ inability to recognize vision issues, eye exams as part of a checklist and new management options.

The ideal approach to myopia management in clinical practice would provide an optimal environment for compliance, satisfaction, clinical outcomes and long-term loyalty. To this end, the comprehensive Brilliant Futures Myopia Management Program offers support for both ECPs and parents and has MiSight 1 day (CooperVision) as its cornerstone. MiSight 1 day is the first soft contact lens proven to slow the progression of myopia in children 8 to 12 years old at the initiation of treatment.

References:

  • Chamberlain P, et al. Optom Vis Sci. 2019;doi:10.1097/OPX.0000000000001410.
  • CooperVision data on file 2019. Global Myopia Awareness Coalition survey 9/19.
  • CooperVision data on file 2019. Myopia Awareness, The Harris Poll online survey 6/27/19 to 7/18/19.

For more information:

Jennifer Palombi, OD, FAAO, is the senior manager of education and development for CooperVision.

Justin Kwan, OD, FAAO, is the senior manager of myopia management for CooperVision.

Acknowledgment:

Thanks to Nathan Greenaway at Visioncare Research Ltd. and Anna Sulley at CooperVision for their help in preparing these articles.