Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of parents of pediatric patients undergoing eye surgery under general anesthesia: a cross-sectional study

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of parents of pediatric patients undergoing eye surgery with general anesthesia (GA) at Tianjin Eye Hospital from July to October 2024. An online cross-sectional survey collected data via a self-constructed questionnaire. A threshold of 70% in KAP scores defined good knowledge, positive attitudes, and proactive practices. The study included 392 parents, mostly female (63.3%). Results indicated mean scores of 11.49 ± 5.99 for knowledge, 32.56 ± 4.22 for attitudes, and 31.62 ± 4.41 for practices. Structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that knowledge was directly associated with attitude (β = 0.524, 95%CI: 0.377-0.670, P < 0.001). Knowledge had no direct association with practice (β=-0.019, 95%CI: -0.150-0.112, P = 0.774) but had an indirect association through attitudes (β = 0.395, 95%CI: 0.262-0.529, P < 0.001), which had a direct association with practice (β = 0.755, 95%CI: 0.577-0.934, P < 0.001). The findings revealed that while parents had inadequate knowledge of GA, they exhibited positive attitudes and proactive practices regarding their children's surgeries. Since knowledge was positively associated with practice, improving parents' knowledge of GA could result in better practices and ultimately lead to better outcomes for pediatric eye surgery patients, but it will have to be confirmed in interventional studies.