ABSTRACT

Optometry is an autonomous healthcare profession, which specializes in primary eye care, concerned with examining the eye for defects and faults of refraction, for correction with lenses or eye exercises, and also diagnosing eye diseases, and treating such diseases or referring them for treatment. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the knowledge and perception towards the Optometry profession among pre-clinical Optometry students in the University of Benin (2019/2020 academic session).This survey was carried out using a structured questionnaire (closed-ended questions and 5 point Likert scale questions). A total of 160 preclinical students made up of 82 males (51.25%) and 78 females (48.75%) participated in this study. Demographic data, information on prior admission awareness, knowledge and perception of Optometry and perception of the respondents were studied. Descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage, and pictorial representations in form of pie charts were used to represent the date collected. Results showed and increasing knowledge and understanding of the profession across the three levels surveyed, with Likert scale ratings of   2.81( “undecided”), 3.06 (“undecided”) and 3.55( “agreed”) for 100,200 and 300 level, respectively. This implies that as the students’ progress in their year of study, their level of understanding and knowledge of Optometry profession improves. There is   also an increasing positive perception towards the profession among students across the levels surveyed, with mean Likert scale ratings of 3.38(“undecided”), 3.91(“agreed”) and 4.34(“agreed”) for 100,200 and 300 levels, respectively. Of the 160 respondents, 114 (71.25%) were much aware of Optometry before admission while 46 (28.75%) were not. However, much can still be done in improving awareness of the profession in every nook and cranny of the Federation through public enlightenment, rural community eye care services and enhanced welfare packages of practitioners in the field.