Awareness of Glaucoma and Associated Factors Among Adults in Gish Abay Town, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the awareness of glaucoma and associated factors among adults living in Gish Abay town, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 594 adults who were selected using systematic random sampling from April to May 2018. Data were entered into Epi Info version 7 and were analyzed by SPSS version 23. Binary and multivariable logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with awareness. Variables with P-value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The proportion of awareness of glaucoma was 24.4% [95% CI; 21.0, 28.1]. It was positively associated with educational status, primary education [AOR: 3.15; 1.72, 5.77], secondary education [AOR; 3.11: 1.66, 5.84], college and above [AOR; 6.10; 2.80, 13.27], history of eye examination [AOR: 6.52; 3.46, 12.25], income level >2000 Ethiopian birr [4.65; 2.59, 8.37] and history of chronic diseases [AOR; 2.93: 1.25, 6.85]. Conclusion: The status of glaucoma awareness in Gish Abay town can be said to be low as compared to studies. Higher educational status, eye examination, history of chronic diseases and better income level were significantly associated with awareness of glaucoma.