AWARENESS OF GLAUCOMA IN AN ELITE COMMUNITY; A STUDY OF AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA

Objective: This study aims to assess the level of awareness of glaucoma among members of a tertiary academic institution community in Northern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a university community and it involved interview and descriptive cross-sectional analysis. Consenting participants who presented at the sick bay of the university health service were serially recruited in March, 2014. Semi-structured questionnaire was directly administered to obtain sociodemographic data and information about glaucoma awareness. Results: The number of participants was 483(mean age 21.0 ± 20.0 years; range 1-79 years). There were 262 males (54.2%). Students were the most common participants 218 (45.1%). Those who had heard of glaucoma were 226 (46.8%) with no statistically significant difference between males 124 (47.3%) and females 102 (46.2%) (P=0.966). The most common source of information was radio (31.6%) followed by health facility (24.8%) and print media (19.2%). Predictors of glaucoma awareness with statistically significant values were level of education, family history of glaucoma and family history of blindness (P=0.000 in all three). Conclusion: This study shows a moderate level of awareness of glaucoma in a university community. Increased health education and eye care services will improve the level of awareness and prevent ocular morbidity and blindness from glaucoma.