Parental Health Beliefs Affect Whether Children Receive Eye Exams

Parental health beliefs regarding their children’s vision have a significant impact on whether children undergo timely eye exams, according to findings published in BMC Ophthalmology. Seeking eye examinations for children is predicted by a parent’s perceptions of the child’s susceptibility to vision problems and barriers to seeking eye examinations. Researchers suggest that raising “parental awareness of vision problems in childhood, dispelling misconceptions, and providing parents with practical information regarding available services” could help remove barriers to appropriate care.

A research team conducted a correlational survey study to explore the role of parental health beliefs using the Health Belief Model.

The researchers issued a questionnaire to 100 parents who presented Barzilai University Medical Center in Israel in July 2021. The survey underscores some of the gaps in parental health beliefs. It shows that only 29.6% of the parents polled know that a vision screening is performed in the first grade, and 10% of parents are unsure about where to find local pediatric eye care at all. Moreover, 19% of parents who took the survey indicated concerns that their child would be prescribed glasses unnecessarily, and 10% believe that wearing glasses could weaken their child’s eyes.

Overall, perceived susceptibility (P  < .01), perceived benefits (P  <.01), perceived barriers (P  <.01), and parents’ level of knowledge (P <.01) were associated with parent seeking of eye examinations for their child.

The 3 leading reasons parents seek eye examinations for their children appear to be concerns about poor vision, concerns about their children’s eyes not being straight, or receiving a recommendation from a teacher or another physician.

The study suggests that when parental health beliefs are free of misconceptions they are more likely to obtain eye exams for their children. Additionally, parents are more likely to obtain eye exams if they are aware of available services and believe that their child is susceptible to vision problems.

“Timely identification of vision problems in children is crucial for timely treatment and prevention of amblyopia, which may be irreversible,” the researchers explain. “These findings support previous studies that identified perceived barriers as an essential factor preventing parents from seeking eye care for their child and introduce parent perceptions of the child’s susceptibility to vision problems as another important factor that might explain what prompts parents to seek eye care for their child.”

Study limitations include limited generalizability of findings, as well as possible bias in the study population given their interest in an eye examination for their child.