Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Digital Eye Strain Among Healthcare Students at a Private University in Northern Peninsular Malaysia

Background: In this modern era, the practice of online learning and various academic assignments necessitate the use of digital device among university students. With prolonged and inappropriate use, they are prone to the risk of experiencing digital eye strain (DES). Such health conditions involve 16 predominant symptoms that might cause severe discomfort if not well treated. Since most university students still do not aware about its consequences, it is of paramount importance to deal with this issue. Objectives: To investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) on digital eye strain (DES) among healthcare students at a private university. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, online questionnaire-based research survey analysis was conducted among healthcare students. The participants’ recruitment was conducted using convenience and a purposive sampling technique. For data analysis, various statistical tests encompassing the Chi-square test, multivariate logistic regression test, and Spearman’s correlation coefficient test were carried out. Results: Our study included 350 personnel. The majority of the respondents were male (n = 177, 50.6%), those aged 18–25 years (n = 250, 71.4%), and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Science (n = 96, 27.4%). On the descriptive statistics, the overall DES prevalence was found to be 69.4% (n = 243), in which most were moderate DES (n = 170, 70.0%), followed by severe DES (n = 44, 18.1%) and mild DES (n = 29, 11.9%). The Chi-square test revealed that both the gender of respondents and the faculty of study were strongly associated with different levels of DES severity. Among the 16 DES symptoms, eye dryness (n = 312, 89.1%) was the most commonly reported, while double vision (n = 139, 74.7%) was the most severe or intense. In this KAP study, the knowledge level of respondents was moderate (n = 188, 53.7%), the attitude level of most respondents was neutral (n = 242, 69.1%), and the practice level was moderate as well (n = 262, 74.9%). Furthermore, the duration of digital device use per day, frequency of taking breaks, seating position, and the use of blue light filters on digital devices were the associated factors of DES. Conclusion: DES prevalence is high with the majority experiencing moderate DES. In addition, most respondents are equipped with a moderate knowledge level, neutral attitude level, and moderate practice levels.