Digital Eye Strain: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Among University Students

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice towards digital eye strain (DES) among Northern Border University (NBU) students in Arar city. A total of 389 students from all nine NBU colleges willingly participated in this population-based cross-sectional study. The majority of the participants (65.6%) were in the age group 18-22 and females (76.3%), while 67.6% of the participants belonged to health-related colleges. Around 60% of students were familiar with the terms like DES and computer vision syndrome. More than fifty people (55.5%) had sufficient knowledge about DES. The most commonly used digital devices were IPads (56.6%). A significant difference in the knowledge in relation to the ages, faculty type, and academic year existed. A positive attitude regarding adjustment of brightness, appropriate seating position and viewing distance was demonstrated by 74%, 73.8%, and 81% of participants respectively. Regarding the duration, 61.2% of participants above six hours of total digital exposure per day. The symptoms associated with digital devices were fatigue of the eyes, foreign body sensation, and also non-ocular symptoms like shoulder or neck pain.  The commonest source of participants’ information about digital eye strain was an awareness campaign. 

Sufficient knowledge about DES was demonstrated above half of the studied population. The current study highlights the need to reduce the digital exposure hours among university students and also to strengthen awareness about DES and its methods of prevention with a target to reach out to the community at large.

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