ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1626792
Exploring eye health professionals' knowledge, attitudes and practices towards eye health promotion interventions: A cross-sectional study
Provisionally accepted
- University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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Background: Health promotion interventions are essential for preventing eye diseases and ensuring early diagnosis, particularly in underserved regions. In South Africa, the public sector has prioritized outreach activities; however, the availability and implementation of such strategies remain unclear. The study seeks to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of eye health professionals regarding the implementation of health promotion interventions particularly those delivered through outreach activities.A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in five districts of a South African province among 68 public sector optometrists. Data were collected using a structured selfadministered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, logistic regression, and Spearman's correlation were used to analyse the data.Results: Most participants reported engaging in schools (89.7%) and community outreaches (95.6%), although collaboration with other professionals was limited. A high proportion of respondents demonstrated good knowledge (88.2%) and positive attitudes (89.7%) toward health promotion. Knowledge and attitude were significantly correlated (r = 0.477, p < 0.01). However, there was a noticeable gap between positive perceptions and consistent implementation of health promotion practices, especially those requiring inter-professional coordination.Eye health professionals in Limpopo Province have good knowledge and favourable attitudes toward health promotion, but implementation remains inconsistent due to systemic barriers. Strengthening HP training, formalizing outreach responsibilities, and improving inter-professional collaboration could enhance the effectiveness of health promotion strategies.
Keywords: eye health promotion, health professionals, knowledge, attitudes, Practices
Received: 11 May 2025; Accepted: 11 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Masemola, Baloyi and Xulu-Kasaba. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hlabje Carel Masemola, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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