Visual Awareness and Its Impact on Sports Performance of Basketball Players in The Maldives

Objective: This study aimed to assess the visual awareness and its impact on basketball performance among Maldivian basketball players. Material and Methods: A 16-item questionnaire about visual and ocular problems, perception towards eye health, and sports performance was distributed electronically to basketball players in the Maldives through various basketball organizations. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-Square test in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.Results: Eighty two Maldivian basketball players aged between 10-40 years, with sixty males, participated in this study. Data showed that only 30.5% of the respondents wore vision correction when playing basketball, none had undergone any visual training, and 20.7% never had any eye examination.Majority of those who underwent eye examination had more than two years since their last eye check-up. Visual difficulties during games were reported by 41.5% of the respondents, with blurry vision and eye injury being the most commonly reported visual symptom and ocular problem, respectively. Moreover, 70.7% of the players experienced inconsistent performance level and loss of concentration during games. There was a significant relationship between experiencing visual difficulties and inconsistent sports performance χ2 (1, N=82) =5.95, p-value=0.02. Conclusion: The visual awareness among Maldivian basketball players is generally low and this seems to be associated with their sports performance. Importance of using corrective/protective eyewear and attending regular eye examinations should be cultivated among athletes in the Maldives, aiming to improve the sports field in this country.