Background: Ultraviolet radiation is electromagnetic radiation or light having a wavelength of less than 400 nm but greater than 100 nm. Ultraviolet radiation, majorly from sunlight, can potentially damage any organ that is exposed to any part of its spectrum. Aside from the skin, the organ most susceptible to sunlight-induced damage is the eye. Ultraviolet radiation is reported to be the cause of multiple ocular problems ranging from benign conditions like pterygium and pinguecula to ocular malignancies such as basal cell carcinoma which finally leads to visual impairment and blindness. Protection practice is mandatory to avoid the burden of diseases caused by ultraviolet exposure and maximizing the protection measures implementation is important. To maximize this, it is essential to know the current practice and the associated factors affecting the usage of protective devices in the study area. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2019 on 453 study participants. The study participants were selected through a systematic random sampling method. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. The analyzed result was summarized and presented using texts, tables and charts. A Chi-square test was applied to assess the significant association. Results: A total of 430 study subjects were participated and completed the questionnaire with a response rate of 94.92%. The mean age of the study participants was 35.3 (SD±6.68). Two hundred forty-three (56.5%) study participants were males. About 228 (53%) of participants were married, and 356 (82.8%) were Christian in religion. From the total study participants, 173 (40.23%) had good practice in protecting the eye from ultraviolet radiation damages while the remaining 59.77% had poor practice. A significant association was found between sex and protection practice of the eye from ultraviolet radiation damages. Conclusion:The majority of the study participants had poor protection practice of the eye from ultraviolet radiation damages. Improving awareness and protection practice are vital to reduce the burden of ocular abnormalities due to excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Introduction: Childhood blindness is defined as a group of eye diseases occurring in childhood or early adolescence. Good parental knowledge of childhood blindness is important for early detection and management of the lifelong burden. Purpose: This study aimed to assess knowledge of childhood blindness and associated factors among parents or guardians. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Systematic random sampling was used to select the study participants. Data were collected by interview using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS version 20. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the determinant factors, and p-values less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 524 participants were enrolled in the study, with a 98.49% response rate. The proportion of good knowledge of childhood blindness was 39.1% (95% CI: 34.9-43.3%). Being male (AOR=2.32, 95% CI: 1.4-3.87), higher educational status (AOR=6.47, 95% CI: 2.4-17.3), knowing where the child eye care center is (AOR=2.68, 95% CI: 1.5-4.7) and participation in eye care campaigns (AOR=1.95, 95% CI: 1.26-3.0) had statistically significant associations with knowledge of childhood blindness. Conclusion: Less than half of the study participants had good knowledge about childhood blindness. Being male, having higher educational status, knowing about the child eye care center and participation in eye care campaigns were positively associated with knowledge of childhood blindness.