KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE OCULAR EFFECTS OF DIGITAL DEVICE USE AMONG UNDERGRADUATES AT A TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN ABAKALIKI, NIGERIA

The widespread use of digital devices among undergraduates poses a challenge on their eye health. This study accessed the level of knowledge and attitudes towards the eye health effects of digital device use among undergraduate students of EBSU. A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used; 450 respondents were sampled by stratified sampling technique using a semi-structured questionnaire based on the 5-point Likert type questions and analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0. Tables and charts were used to display data and the Fisher’s Exact and Chi-square tests used to determine the statistical significance. The findings showed that despite good attitude towards the eye health effects of digital device use, 50.9% of the participants had poor knowledge of the eye health effects of digital device use. In addition, there was a high disregard to the measures necessary to limit the eye health effects of digital device use. Academic level (p=0.046) and campus of study (p=0.000) were statistically significant factors (p<0.05) that affected the level of knowledge while the attitude towards eye health effects of digital device use among the undergraduate students was not significantly associated with any demographic variable. Undergraduate students have low level of awareness of the eye health effects of digital device use, however, students in the health sciences tend to have more knowledge about the effects of digital device use on the eyes compared to students in the social sciences and humanities.