Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice toward myopia prevention among hospital-attended children and adolescents in Changsha China: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Myopia is a pressing public health issue globally, particularly among East Asian children and adolescents. Data on myopia prevention Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) in hospital-attended high-risk groups remain scarce worldwide, limiting the development of evidence-based pediatric nursing interventions. PURPOSE: To assess myopia prevention KAP and its influencing factors in Changsha's hospital-attended children/adolescents, providing evidence for pediatric nursing interventions in diverse healthcare settings. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1059 participants using a validated KAP questionnaire. Data were analyzed via ANOVA, chi-square test, and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: The overall KAP score corresponded to 76.61% of the maximum possible score, with a notable knowledge-attitude-practice gap. Urban residence, family income, Body Mass Index, and lifestyle factors were significantly associated with KAP outcomes; lower body mass index (BMI) was associated with better preventive practice scores. CONCLUSION: Hospital-attended children and adolescents demonstrated favorable knowledge and attitude scores but comparatively lower practice scores regarding myopia prevention, indicating a gap between knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors. Targeted nursing and behavioral interventions may represent potential strategies for addressing gaps in preventive practices. The findings should be interpreted within the context of a single tertiary hospital setting and convenience sampling approach. Future multicenter and intervention studies are needed to validate these findings and determine whether nursing-centered approaches can effectively improve preventive practices.