Authors: Abdulwahab AlThib , Rajiv Khandekar , Deepak Edward

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Article Info

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Abstract

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Background: Primary prevention of primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) includes improving families of children with PGC. We evaluated the level of knowledge and attitudes of parents of children on PCG in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This was a personal interview-based survey of parents of children with PCG at a tertiary eye hospital in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted in 2018. A close-ended questionnaire in Arabic was used. Demographic data were collected on the children and parents. Clinical data on PCG were collected from electronic case records. Five questions each on knowledge and attitudes toward genetic counseling were queried. A Likert-type scale was used to collect the responses. Rasch analysis was carried out for knowledge and attitudes. The score was correlated with demographics and clinical determinants. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The study sample comprised 60 participants. The median Rasch score for knowledge on genetic counseling for PCG was -4.57 [interquartile range (IQR) -7.28; -1.0]. The median Rasch score for attitudes toward genetic counseling for PCG was -8.9 (IQR -11.6: -5.9). Parents with more than one family member with PCG had a significantly higher knowledge than those with one family member with PCG (p = 0.007). Knowledge of etiology and genetic counseling was significantly better if the child had residual vision amenable to low vision care (p < 0.001). The Rasch scores for knowledge and attitude were positively correlated (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Knowledge of the cause of PCG and genetic counseling was high among parents. The positive attitude toward genetic counseling could be useful for the primary prevention of CG in Saudi Arabia.

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Keywords: Primary congenital glaucoma, genetic counseling, prevention, etiology, birth defects

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