BACKGROUND:

Eyes are an essential element for communicating with the world and significantly increase one’s quality of life and happiness. However, our eyes are regularly exposed to visual media for extended periods, which can lead to myopia. For the past few decades, the prevalence of myopia has increased¹⁵. Visual impairment, including myopia, broadly limits daily activities and can pose difficulties in choosing jobs, causing harmful effects to personal quality of life. School-going children are at a critical stage for learning health promotion strategies. Educating them on eye health can foster lifelong healthy habits. Eye health education can complement academic learning by ensuring children have the visual health needed for optimal learning. Recent estimates show that there are 1.26 million children who are blind and 19 million children who are visually impaired, including 12 million with uncorrected refractive error, globally¹³. Uncorrected refractive error (URE), especially myopia, is one of the major causes of vision impairment and blindness¹. Prevention, recognition, referral and treatment of a child for eye diseases is linked with the United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs).

The Indian Government has a strong commitment to school health programs, including eye health. Since 1994, school eye testing is an integral part of the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB)². Under the national programme, which is implemented through District Health Societies (DHS), 7,57,906 pairs of spectacles were provided between 2016–2017³. Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India launched the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK–National Child Security Programme) under the National Health Mission (NHM)³. This is an ambitious programme, which envisages child health screening, including eye screening. School-based eye-care interventions have the potential to provide high-quality and cost–effective services that allow the early detection of eye diseases and prevention of blindness, particularly for children living in remote locations⁶.

NEED FOR THE STUDY:

Eye health is crucial for children's learning, development, and overall well-being. Early education on eye health can promote preventive behaviors and reduce risks of eye problems. Children might not be fully aware of eye health promotion strategies, leading to potential vision problems or untreated eye conditions. Video-assisted teaching programs can be engaging, interactive, and effective in conveying health information to children. Assessing their impact can inform educators and healthcare providers about useful tools for eye health promotion⁹^,¹².

OBJECTIVES:

1. To evaluate the existing knowledge of school-going children regarding eye health promotion strategies.

2. To determine the impact of a video-assisted teaching program on improving knowledge and practices related to eye health among school-going children.

3. To compare knowledge and practices related to eye health before and after the video-assisted teaching program to assess its effectiveness.

4. To find the relationship between knowledge and practices related to eye health care among school-going children.

5. To explore factors that may influence the effectiveness of the video-assisted teaching program on eye health promotion strategies

HYPOTHESIS:

H1 There will be a significant difference between pre-test and post-test level of knowledge regarding eye health promoting strategies among school going children.

H2 There will be a correlation between knowledge regarding eye health promoting strategies and eye care practice among school going children.

H3 There will be a significant association between knowledge regarding eye health promoting strategies and socio-economic factors among school going children

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA OF THIS STUDY:

Inclusion Criteria:

· School-going children typically within a specific age range (15-17 years).

· Children enrolled in participating schools.

Exclusion Criteria:

· Children with severe visual impairments that may affect their ability to participate in the study or understand the video-assisted teaching.

· Children with cognitive limitations that may impact their ability to understand or participate in the study procedures.

· Children without parental/guardian consent or those who do not assent to participate.

STUDY DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION:

Research Design:

Q1: Pre-test knowledge X: Intervention in the form of planned teaching

Q2: Post-test knowledge

Q1	X	Q2
Assessment of knowledge regarding eye health promotion strategies among school going children	Video assisted teaching programme on eye health promotion strategies among school going children	Reassessment of knowledge regarding eye health promotion strategies among school going children

A validated questionnaire was used to assess knowledge and practices related to eye health care among school-going children.

Tool 1: Demographic information of school children

Tool 2: Assessment of knowledge on eye promoting strategies – Structured questionnaire

Tool 3: Assessment of eye care protection practices – Check list

The knowledge questionnaire consisted of 25 multiple-choice questions focusing on strategies for promoting eye health. Eye care protection practices were assessed using a checklist, which included aspects such as personal hygiene, vision care, screen time and digital device use, protective measures, awareness and education. The study was conducted over a period of four weeks. The investigator identified students who met the inclusion criteria. Confidentiality and anonymity of the participants were maintained, and informed consent was obtained from all respondents. The data collection procedure included a pre-test, in which the questionnaire was administered before implementing a video-assisted teaching program to assess baseline knowledge and practices. Following the intervention, a post-test using the same questionnaire was conducted to evaluate changes in knowledge and practices related to eye health.

	Research approach Quantitative approach

	Research design One group pre-test and post-test quasi experimental research design

	Population School students between the age group of 15 to 17 years

	Sampling technique Probability (Random) sampling technique

	Sample size N = 30

Video assisted teaching programme regarding eye health promotion strategies among school going children

Data analysis Descriptive and inferential statistics

Study finding and conclusion

Figure 2: Schematic Representation of Research Methodology

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND DATA PROCESSING:

This study Applied Descriptive Statistics to Calculate mean, median, and standard deviation to describe the demographic characteristics, knowledge and practice scores of the participants. Paired t-test used Compare pre-test and post-test knowledge scores to determine a significant improvement after the intervention and By using Chi-Square Test, Investigated the associations between categorical variables, such as knowledge levels (poor, average, excellent) and demographic characteristics. Karl Pearson's Coefficient Correlation was used to find the relationship between knowledge on eye care and eye care protection practices among school children.

RESULTS:

Demographic Characteristics of the Study Participants:

The demographic characteristics of the study population reveal some notable trends. In terms of age, the majority of the participants (66%) are 16 years old, followed by 15-year-olds (27%), and a small proportion (7%) are 17 years old. The gender distribution shows a slightly higher proportion of females (60%) compared to males (40%). The religious affiliation of the participants is predominantly Hindu (73%), followed by Christians (20%), and a small proportion of Muslims (7%). Regarding family structure, the majority of participants (73%) come from nuclear families, while 27% are from joint families. Interestingly, the income distribution of the families shows that an equal proportion of participants (33.3% each) fall into the income categories of Rs 5001-10000, Rs 10001-20000, & less than Rs 5000. And none of the participants have a family income of more than Rs 20000/.

Table 1: Frequency and Percentage Distribution Based on Demographic Characteristic

S. No	Demographic characteristics	Frequency	Percentage %
1.	AGE IN YEARS
	15	8	27%
	16	20	66..%
	17	2	7%
2.	GENDER
	Male	12	40%
	Female	18	60%
3.	RELIGION
	Hindu	22	73.%
	Christian	6	20%
	Muslim	2	7%
	Others	0	0%
4.	TYPE OF FAMILY
	Nuclear family	22	73%
	Joint family	8	27%
5.	INCOME OF THE FAMILY
	Less than Rs 5000/	10	33.3%
	Rs 5001-10000/	10	33.3%
	Rs 10001-20000/	10	33.3%
	More than 20000/	0	0%

Figure 3: Pre- test and Post -test knowledge Levels

Table 6: Association between Knowledge Scores and Selected Demographic Variables

S. No	Demographic variables	Knowledge score			D f	Chi square	‘p’ value	Significance
S. No	Demographic variables	Poor	Average	Excellent	D f	Chi square	‘p’ value	Significance
1.	AGE IN YEARS				1	10.12	0.039	Significant*
	15	6	2	0
	16	4	16	0
	17	0	2	0
2.	GENDER				1	9.45	0.002	Significant**
	Male	8	4	0
	Female	2	16	0
3.	RELIGION				2	8.1	0.017	Significant*
	Hindu	4	18	0
	Christian	4	2	0
	Muslim	2	0	0
	Others	0	0	0
4.	TYPE OF FAMILY				1	9.17	0.002	Significant**
	Nuclear family	4	18	0
	Joint family	6	2	0
5.	INCOME OF THE FAMILY				2	6.67	0.03	Significant*
	Less than Rs5000	6	4	0
	Rs5001-10000	3	7	0
	Rs10001-20000	1	9	0
	Rs 20000 <	0	0	0

Figure 4: Eye care Practice Levels

DISCUSSION:

Table 1: Highlights study population's demographic characteristics. The majority are 16 years old (66%), female (60%), Hindu (73%), and from nuclear families (73%) and equal distribution, the income category.

Table 2: The analysis of the level of knowledge on eye health promotion strategies in pre-test disclosed that 10 (33.3%) were having poor level of knowledge, 20 (66.7%) were having average level of knowledge and none of them were having excellent level of knowledge. Majority 20 (66.7%) of the students had average level of knowledge in pre-test. The analysis of the level of knowledge on eye health promotion strategies in post-test disclosed that none of them were having poor level of knowledge, 6 (20%) were having average level of knowledge and 24 (80%) were having excellent level of knowledge. Majority 24 (80%) of the students had excellent level of knowledge in post-test study by Gunjan Tank et al. (2023) found that prolonged exposure to video display units during online classes led to ocular problems and computer vision syndrome in school-going children. The study recommended cautious use of digital platforms for online learning⁴.

Table 3: The comparison of pre and post-test knowledge score on eye health promotion strategies unveiled that the mean knowledge score was 10.1 in the pre-test and 20.1 in the post-test. The mean score was increased in the post-test because of the administration of video assisted teaching programme on eye health promotion strategies. The paired ‘t’ value on comparison of pre and post-test knowledge was 28.25 which was statistically highly significant at p <0.005. The above findings are supported by a study conducted by Park & Ahn (2022), which demonstrated the effectiveness of a school eye health education program in improving middle school students' knowledge and practices regarding eye health⁵. The experimental group showed significant increases in eye health-related knowledge (t=9.45, p<.001) and eye health practice scores (t=2.18, p=.031).A quasi-experimental study by Nukhet Kırağ and Ayla Bayik Temel (2018) found that an eye health promotion program improved primary school students' knowledge and behaviors related to eye health⁶. The experimental group's mean score on eye health knowledge increased significantly (P < 0.05), and their eye health protective behaviors also improved. A study by Paudel et al. (2019) found that health promotion activities in schools increased awareness of childhood eye diseases and activities that could cause eye problems among children. The percentage of children with "correct" knowledge and showing "positive" attitudes to eye health increased by 10–20% after the health promotion¹².

Table 4: The study revealed that 30% of participants had poor eye care practices, while 47% demonstrated good or average practices. Only 23% of participants exhibited excellent eye care practices. These findings suggest that a significant proportion of individuals may be at risk for eye-related problems due to inadequate eye care practices. A study among undergraduate students in Mangaluru, Karnataka, found that they had good ocular hygiene practices, but a significant proportion had low risk for ocular disorders. The study revealed a negative correlation between practices of ocular hygiene and risk assessment for ocular disorders, highlighting the need for initiatives to improve eye care habits and reduce the risk of ocular disorders among undergraduates⁷.Similarly, a study among undergraduates in Benin, Nigeria, revealed practices of ocular hygiene and risks for ocular disorders, highlighting the need for improved awareness and preventive programs⁸.

Table 5: The study showed a moderate positive correlation between knowledge and eye care practices, with a Pearson's r value of 0.52. This suggests that as knowledge about eye care increases, eye care practices also tend to improve. A study in South India found that parental awareness about pediatric visual problems was significantly associated with knowledge and practices. Large-scale analyses in the US also demonstrate that socio-demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status are significantly associated with pediatric vision screening and eye care¹⁰ ¹¹.

Table 6: The analysis highlighted the significant associations between knowledge scores and several demographic variables. Age was significantly associated with knowledge score (χ² = 10.12, p = 0.03), with older students (16-year-olds) performing better than younger students (15-year-olds). Gender also showed a significant association with knowledge score (χ² = 9.45, p = 0.002), with females outperforming males in the excellent category. Furthermore, religion was significantly associated with knowledge score (χ² = 8.1, p = 0.01), indicating differences in knowledge scores across different religious groups. Additionally, type of family (χ² = 9.17, p = 0.002) and socio-economic status (χ² = 6.67, p = 0.03) were also significantly associated with knowledge score. These findings are consistent with other studies: Pawar et al. (2023) in South India⁹, Antonio-Aguirre et al. (2024) in the US¹⁰, and Hsu et al. (2024) in the US¹¹. A recent review also highlights the role of eyewear hygiene and fatigue among children¹⁴.

DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

This study is delimited to school-going children aged 15-17 years, specifically in selected higher secondary schools in Coimbatore. It focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of a video-assisted teaching program on eye health promotion strategies, assessing knowledge and practices related to eye health among the participants. By narrowing down the scope to this specific age group, geographic area, and intervention, the study aims to provide in-depth insights into the effectiveness of the program within these defined parameters.

CONCLUSIONS:

The findings suggest that the video-assisted teaching programme significantly improved the knowledge and awareness of eye health promotion strategies among the school children. The programme effectiveness can be attributed to its engaging and interactive nature, which facilitated better understanding and retention of information. The study's results have implications for school health education, highlighting the potential of video-assisted teaching programmes as a valuable tool for promoting eye health among adolescents. By incorporating such programmes into school curricula, educators and healthcare professionals can work together to promote healthy habits and prevent eye-related problems among school children.

REFERENCES:

1. Khanna RC, Murthy GVS. Importance of integrating eye health into school health initiatives. Indian Pediatrics. 2017; 54(9): 653-655.

2. Jose R, Sachdeva S. School eye screening and the National Program for Control of Blindness. Indian Pediatrics. 2009; 46: 205-208.

3. National Health Mission (MoHFW). Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) – Overview.

4. Tank G, Bhagat P, Prajapati K, Nayi S. Effects of online teaching on eyes of school-going children during COVID-19. Panacea Journal of Medical Sciences. 2023; 13(2):434-438

5. Park H, Ahn S. Effect of school eye-health education on knowledge and practice in middle-school students. Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education. 2022; 28(2):117-126.

6. Kırağ N, Temel AB. Effect of an eye-health promotion program on protective behaviours of primary school students. Journal of Education and Health Promotion. 2018; 7:37.

7. Arun MK, Barboza HR, Pavithra KA, Sreekanth PS. Practice of ocular hygiene and risk for ocular disorders among undergraduates in Mangaluru, India: a cross-sectional study. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2023; 17(7): LC23-LC27.

8. Ebeigbe JA, Obazee ON, Obahiagbon EA, Ebuwa SI. Practice of ocular hygiene and risks for ocular disorders among undergraduate students of the University of Benin. Tropical Journal of Health Sciences. 2025; 32(1): 24-30.

9. Pawar N, Ravindran M, Fathima A, et al. Parental awareness about pediatric visual problems: a KAP survey in South India. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. 2023; 71(5):2175-2180.

10. Antonio-Aguirre A, Sabates R, McKean-Cowdin R, Goldstein H, Morgan IG, Collins ME, et al. Socio-demographic inequalities in eye care in the United States: 2016 vs 2020. Ophthalmology. 2024.

11. Hsu J, Chen A, Rossin-Slater M, Thombley J. Vision screening and eye care among U.S. children: 2016–2020 trends and disparities. JAMA Ophthalmology. 2024; 142(3):e235123.

12. Paudel P, Yen PT, Kovai V, Naduvilath T, Ho SM, Giap NV, Holden BA. Effect of school eye-health promotion on children’s eye-health literacy in Vietnam. Health Promotion International. 2019; 34(1):113-122.

13. World Health Organization. Blindness and vision impairment – Fact sheet (Aug 2023); Refractive errors Q&A (Aug 2024).

14. Tushe M. Lens clarity and visual fatigue in children: the role of eyewear hygiene and healthcare professionals. Archives of Clinical Ophthalmology. 2025; 4(1):12-16.

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Received on 01.09.2025 Revised on 08.10.2025

Accepted on 30.10.2025 Published on 23.02.2026

Available online from February 25, 2026

Int. J. Nursing Education and Research. 2026;14(1):15-20.

DOI: 10.52711/2454-2660.2026.00003

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Creative Commons License.

Variables	Pearson’s r value	Remarks
Knowledge and Eye care Practices	0.52	Moderate Positive Correlation

Knowledge	Pre-test		Post-test
Knowledge	Frequency	Percentage	Frequency	Percentage
Poor	10	34%	0	0%
Average	20	66%	6	20%
Excellent	0	0	24	80%

S. No	Eye care practices	Frequency	Percentage
1	Poor	9	30%
2	Good / average	14	47%
3	Excellent	7	23%