Have the attitudes of Australian squash players towards protective eyewear changed over the past decade?

OBJECTIVE To assess indicative trends in the use of protective eyewear by Australian squash players and their attitudes towards its use since 1989. METHODS Data were extracted from three Australian surveys of squash players conducted in 1989, 1995, and 2000. Responses to directly similar attitudinal questions relating to protective eyewear use from each survey were compared. The proportion of players giving each response was calculated for each survey, along with 95% confidence intervals for the differences between the 2000 survey and those from the earlier surveys. RESULTS Self reported use of protective eyewear ranged from 10.0% in 1989, to 8.6% in 1995, and 18.8% in 2000. However, only 8.9% of the players surveyed in 2000 actually wore appropriate standards approved/polycarbonate lens eyewear. This can be compared with 8.0% and 2.0% of players who reported wearing appropriate polycarbonate lens eyewear in the 1989 and 1995 surveys respectively. Compared with the 1995 survey, significantly more players in 2000 believed that more players should wear protective eyewear (95% confidence interval (CI) for difference 1 to 18). A significantly higher proportion of players also supported the compulsory use of protective eyewear by juniors in 2000 than in both 1989 (95% CI for difference 6 to 24) and 1995 (95% CI for difference 5 to 22). No other attitudes had significantly changed over the decade. CONCLUSION These data suggest that self reported use of protective eyewear has probably increased over the past decade. However, many players report wearing inappropriate eyewear. A transition from positive attitudes to appropriate eyewear behaviours is required before mandatory protective eyewear use can be effectively introduced.