Awareness and perceptions of child eye health services among parents and community stakeholders in rural Uttar Pradesh, India

Purpose: Understanding parental and community perceptions is crucial for designing context-specific interventions that enhance awareness, promote timely care-seeking, and reduce avoidable childhood visual impairment. This study explored awareness and perceptions of child eye health among parents and community stakeholders in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with five key stakeholder groups engaged in community eye health: Parents, Anganwadi (community nutrition center) workers, community eye health workers, schoolteachers, and vision technicians from vision centers. The interviews aimed to capture stakeholder perspectives on barriers and enablers related to accessing and delivering children’s eye health services. All interviews were conducted in the local language, audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed using the theoretical domains framework (TDF), which integrates multiple behavioral theories. Results: The analysis identified three TDF domains as major barriers common across stakeholder groups: Social influences , Knowledge , and Environmental context and resources . Reported enablers fell within three domains— Knowledge , Environmental context and resources , and Behavioral regulation —reflecting the importance of community awareness, availability of services, and consistent follow-up practices. This comprehensive application of the TDF provided valuable insights into how behavioral, social, and contextual factors shape community responses to childhood eye health. Conclusion: The findings underscore that improving pediatric eye care requires not only expanding service delivery and outreach programs but also addressing community attitudes, beliefs, and emotional engagement. Sustainable progress in childhood eye health will depend on strategies that simultaneously strengthen healthcare provision and transform social norms and understanding within the community.