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(1 to 4 year) who volunteered to participate Exclusion criteria: It excluded postgraduates,
th
st
in the study were included. The research was pass-out students or practitioners.
carried out in Indian Optometry institutions DATA ANALYSIS:
in all four zones. Undergraduate Optometry
programmes were available at each of the The data was captured and analysed with
universities. The study was conducted between the Statistical Programme of Social Sciences
April-July in 2021 with 484 participants. (SPSS) version 21. Descriptive statistics were
SAMPLING PROCEDURE: used to analyse values such as frequencies,
mean, standard deviation, cross-tabulation, and
This study included clustered-sampling percentage of collected data.
methods to collect the data by adopting a
validated questionnaire previously used in a Chisquare tests were used to analyse the
related study abroad. The questionnaire was association between relevant variables. A p-value
modified according to the Indian scenario of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
and presented as a Google form questionnaire RESULTS:
to be delivered electronically in all zones
of Optometry institutions that agreed to 1. There were total 484 subjects (Male: 48% &
participate in this study. Female: 52%)
2. Mean age 24+/- 2.6
Inclusion criteria: It included only
undergraduate Optometry students who agreed 3. 5% married and 95% unmarried
to participate in this study. 4. Most of the students from rural backgrounds
(51%) want to open their first practice
(70.2%, p<0.05) or second practices
(70.6%, p<0.05) in rural areas.
5. Those from an urban background
(49%, p<0.05) want to open their
first (58.8%, p<0.05 & second 62.1%,
p<0.05) Reason cited by the students
for their unwillingness to work in the
rural areas were financial concerns
(36%, p<0.05), poor living conditions
(27.7%, p<0.05), personal safety (24.4%,
p<0.05), and language barriers (24.2%,
p<0.05).
6. The main factors that influence
rural practice were scholarship
for further studies (40.7%, p<0.05),
financial incentives (22.3%, p<0.05),
and compulsory community services
(29.5%, p<0.05).
The main reasons behind the
unwillingness of the students to work in
rural areas include financial concerns,
personal safety, poor living conditions,
exposure to more optometric practice,
and even language barriers. The study
shows that typically, the motivating
factors that may encourage the students
to work in rural areas include a good
RESEARCH MAY-JUNE 2022 THE INDIAN OPTICIAN 119
