2MD.,Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital., Neonatology, Diyarbakir, Turkey DOI : 10.37845/ret.vit.2020.29.38 Purpose: The aim of this study is to measure the level of knowledge of parents about retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and provide insight into programs that can be designed to raise awareness in parents about ROP.
Materials and Methods: The study enrolled parents of infants who were born before the 32th week of gestation, and brought to retinopathy of prematurity examination between the 4th and 6th postnatal weeks. Prior to the ROP examination, an 11-item survey was administered to measure the level of knowledge of the parents about ROP.
Results: The study included 200 parents with premature infants. Of the parents, 43% (86) were mothers and 57% (114) were fathers. Of the patients, 78% were referred by a pediatrician/neonatologist, 14% by another ophthalmologist, 8% by a family physician, and 7.5% presented to the hospital without any doctor?s reference. 72% of the parents knew for which examination they had presented to the hospital. 63.5% did not know what ROP was, and 75% were not aware of the fact that ROP is a disease that causes blindness. Only 31.5% of the parents had obtained information about ROP and they mostly obtained information from doctors. It was found that as the education level of the parents increased, their awareness about ROP increased.
Conclusion: In order to protect premature babies from irreversible blindness, there is a need for informative programs for parents on retinopathy of prematurity.
Keywords : Awareness, Childhood blindness, Education level, Parent, Retinopathy of prematurity