Significance
This survey provides information about Chinese children's myopia correction status and parents' attitudes toward myopia correction.
Purpose
Under the background of a guideline of appropriate techniques for the prevention and control of children's myopia, this study aimed to investigate the current myopia correction pattern of children and parents' attitudes.
Methods
Two self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 684 children with myopia corrections and 450 parents (384 mothers and 66 fathers) to explore children's myopia correction patterns and parental attitudes. The questionnaire investigated the pattern of children's myopia correction, prescribing of children's myopia correction, the incidence of high myopia, parental attitudes towards various myopia corrections methods, and preferred initial age for contact lens usage.
Results
Single-vision spectacles (n = 600, 88.2 ± 7.4%) are widely used in China due to their comfort and affordability. More than 80% of children use single-vision spectacles prescribed by ophthalmologists and opticians. Children who used single-vision spectacles at an earlier age had more incidence of high myopia (18.4 ± 4.2%) than those who used single-vision spectacles at a later age (0.7 ± 0.9%). Effective myopia control was the primary reason parents preferred to choose different optical corrections, followed by safety, convenience, clarity, affordability, comfort, and other reasons. The survey indicated that 52.4% of parents whose children used orthokeratology lenses would have preferred safe and convenient options if available. Additionally, 50% of the parents preferred delaying their children’s use of orthokeratology lenses and other contact lenses to an older age.
Conclusions
Single-vision spectacles are still a popular option to correct myopia in children. There was a demonstrated increase in myopia in children who used single spectacles at an earlier age. Parents' attitudes were important factors for selecting myopia corrections in children.
