Assessment of compliance with contact lens wear and care among university-based population in Jordan.

PURPOSE: this survey aimed to assess levels of compliance with contact lens wear and care among university student's population in Jordan.

METHODS

An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to assess the extent of compliance among contact lens wearers toward contact lens care in a university population. The questionnaire included 12 questions regarding compliance with contact lens care, lens case/solution replacement, general hygiene procedures related to contact lens and adherence to aftercare visits.

RESULTS

210 contact lens wearers were interviewed. Of the study population 187 (89 %) were females and 23 (11 %) were males. The average age of the study group was 22.35 (± 3.77) years and all the study population were students (undergraduate or postgraduate).The average compliance rate of the study population was 75 %. High level of compliance was noticeable in the following aspects; not sharing lenses with others, not sleeping while wearing lenses, hand washing before lens use and not using water to clean lenses. Moderate level of compliance was reported in the following aspects; showering/swimming with lenses, using lenses longer than recommended replacement schedule and all behaviours related to contact lens care solution. However, low levels of compliance were reported in relation to cleaning and rinsing lens case and adherence to aftercare visits.

CONCLUSION

High to moderate levels of compliance were reported generally by participants. However, better strategies are recommended to further increase levels of compliance among contact lens wearers in Jordan related to adherence to aftercare visits. While this study is targeted contact lens wearers from a university student's population, a future study is recommended to include larger sample of contact lens wearers from the general lay population.