Investigating The Awareness Of Kajal (Kohl) Application Among Primary Caregivers

Abstract

Background Kajal (also known as kohl) application among children is widespread in many Asian and African countries for various traditional beliefs and beautification practices. The use of kajal has various ocular and systemic effects.

Aim This study aims to understand the perceptions of Primary Care Givers on the awareness and practices of kajal application amongst children. This information will aid the planning of various intervention, training modalities and educational programs for governmental and non-governmental policies.

Methodology Quantitative primary research was followed using a validated structured questionnaire. The study was a hospital based, cross-sectional, descriptive, study.  The target respondents were mothers or primary caregivers of children less than 10 years of age, visiting paediatric the out-patient department of an eye hospital in Mastichak. Bihar. Using simple random sampling, the responses were collected by the help of KAP (Knowledge, Awareness, and Practice) questionnaire. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 25.0) was used for data analysis.

Result A total of 222 participants were recruited in the survey. All the respondents are found to have used kajal on their children, which was largely of the homemade variety. The majority of respondents (75.2%) stated that they used kajal in children within the last month, and around 20% of them used it on the day of the birth of their child. Most of the respondents (78.4%) had no idea about the problems that can occur due to the use of kajal in the eyes. Nearly half (43.2%) of the respondents reported having some kind of eye health issues in their children directly due to kajal application.

Conclusion The awareness of eye health problems among children related to the application of kajal on children’s eyes was found to be low.  People have been using kajal without knowing much about the ocular side effects that can occur. There is need to educate the general public as a whole on the eye health issues of applying kajal, especially amongst children