فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

INTRODUCTION: Undiagnosed and uncorrected refractive errors in childhood can negatively affectthe development of vision and cause students to have low academic success and even quit schoolbefore graduation. This study aims to determine the effects of an eye health promotion program onthe health protective behaviors of primary school students.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This experimental study using a pretest‑posttest design with a controlgroup was conducted in three public primary schools in Aydın, a city in the Western Anatolia Regionof Turkey, between April and November 2014. The eye health promotion program was provided by theresearchers to the experimental Group 2 days in 4 weeks. The data were analyzed using the t‑test,Chi‑square analysis, the Mann–Whitney U‑test, the Wilcoxon signed‑rank test, and the McNemar test.RESULTS: The average age of the students was identified as 9.0 ± 3.64 years. The studentswearing glasses all in the experimental group and 53.3% in the control group were found to alwayswear their glasses after the education program was completed (P < 0.05). These students, 97.9%in the experimental group and 58.1% in the control group underwent eye examinations from anophthalmologist (P < 0.05). The eye health protective behaviors of the experimental group werefound to have positively changed in the final follow‑up, compared to the control group (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: The eye health promotion program was found to be effective in improving eye healthprotective behaviors within the experimental group.