study of the knowledge and practice of computer users about computer related eye problems

purpose: to evaluate the knowledge and practice of computer users about computer related eye problems.  methods: one hundred twenty-three computer users were asked to complete a questionnaire. in each questionnaire, after initial demographic questions, 9 questions were conducted to evaluate the knowledge of the users and 9 questions to assess their attitude about the computer vision syndrome (cvs). results: sixty-nine women and 54 men with mean age of 31.3±7.1 years were studied. all of the users had daily computer work of more than 1 hour and 70 users (56.2%) had more than 3 hours of daily computer work. the correct responses ranged from 7.6% to 78.5% for knowledge questions, and from 25.3% to 76% for practice questions. in 1 knowledge question (proper contrast and brightness) and 2 practice questions (contrast and brightness adjustment and maximum working time without rest), more than 50% of the users responded correctly. the lowest correct responses were the optimum room light (7.6%) in the knowledge section and ocular examinations (25.3%) in the practice section. twenty-eight users (22.8%) said they had read about the cvs in scientific sources, however, only 2 (7.1%) knew all signs and symptoms of cvs. no user correctly responded to all questions about the appropriate approach to cvs. conclusion: the level of knowledge of the studied population about the cvs was limited. proper use of the present knowledge was low as well.