title: Parents' knowledge and perspective of optical methods for myopia control in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To solicit parents' knowledge on myopia control strategies available; to investigate their attitudes toward the use of orthokeratology (ortho-k), daily wear soft lenses, and spectacles for myopia control, assuming all three optical strategies were equally effective for myopia control; and to collect their opinion on the age at which children can commence contact lens wear for vision correction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Telephone interviews were conducted on parents who responded to the advertisement for two myopia control studies, one on ortho-k and one on soft lenses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most of the 196 respondents (ortho-k group, 56%; soft lens group, 44%) were mothers, aged 36 to 45 years. Ortho-k was the most commonly known myopia control strategy (86%). Parents in the ortho-k group selected ortho-k (49%) and spectacles (45%) (p < 0.001) as their preferred myopia control strategy, whereas parents in the soft lens group had no preference (p = 0.57). Decision was affected by prior knowledge of myopia control strategy. Major considerations were convenience and safety among parents selecting contact lenses and spectacles, respectively, as their preferred options. Overall, because of the lack of confidence in safety in contact lens wear, most parents (75%) were of the opinion that contact lenses for vision correction were only for children older than 14 years (53%) and not indicated for children younger than 8 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents in Hong Kong were open to the use of contact lenses for myopia control in young children and they appeared to regard myopia control contact lenses as "treatment" and not as visual aids. They were more conservative in the use of contact lenses for vision correction in children. Parents' decision in selecting a myopia control strategy, assuming all three strategies to be equally effective, was affected by an individual's concerns of safety and additional benefits as well as influenced by positive evidence on myopia control effects.
authors.affiliation: *MPhil, FAAO †BScOptom ‡PhD, FAAO School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China (all authors).
authors.forename: Sin-Wan
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Christie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003263:Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic; D005139:Eyeglasses; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009216:Myopia / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D054158:Orthokeratologic Procedures / Q000379:methods; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*