Effect of school eye health education program on eye health knowledge and practice in middle school students

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effects of an eye health education program on the level of knowledge and eye health practice of middle school students. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted using a pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design. The study participants were from one middle school first graders in a province of Korea. The experimental group was composed of three classes (76 students), and the control group was composed of three other classes (77 students). Pretests were conducted in June for the experimental group and in August for the control group. The experimental group received an eye health education program developed for this study consisting of four sessions in total, given once a week for 45 minutes per session. The control group was instructed by the school's health teacher in the eye health education included in the existing health education curriculum. Posttests were conducted three weeks after the training in the control group and immediately after the fourth eye health education session in the experimental group. Results: After being instructed in the eye health education program, the eye health-related knowledge (t=9.45, p<.001) and eye health practice (t=2.18, p=.031) of the experimental group participating in the education program were higher than those of the control group. Conclusion: The eye health education program was effective in improving middle school student’s level of eye health-related knowledge and eye health practice. School health teachers could implement this program as a part of the standard eye health education for middle school students. The long-term effects of practicing eye health behavior needs to be confirmed in a future study.