Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice among frontline staff in optometry practice on visual aid (spectacles and contact lenses) and lens enhancement.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Optometry private practice in South Africa is a very competitive industry with little differentiation in the service and product offerings being offered. In this service driven industry, the quality of customer service offered by the frontline staff is a key differentiation that gives the service provider a competitive edge over other competitors offering the same service. This knowledge and attitude is often displayed by the confidence, empathy and product/service knowledge. Hence, due to the customer engaging role of frontline staff at Specsavers, it is necessary to assess their knowledge and attitude and subsequent applicability of these attributes on the job. The objective of this study was to evaluate the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of the frontline staff at Specsavers practices within KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces. This was sought for in order to compare the findings of this study with the results of other relative studies and further proffer solutions that can be contextualised to the South African environment. The study adopted a quantitative approach and utilised a questionnaire for the collection of required data for the study. The questionnaire was critically constructed to assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of frontline staff at Specsavers. Frontliners from KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape were included in the study. The sample size was 150 and 102 people completed the questionnaire. The study was analysed using the SPSS version 25. Upon data collection, the descriptive analysis found that the frontline staff at Specsavers have good aggregate Knowledge about optometry products and services. The second objective also made a similar observation as it was found that over half of the frontline staffers exhibited a positive attitude. This pattern was further explicated in the observed practices of the frontline staffers as majority of the frontline staff displayed good practice in their professional engagement and interactions with clients as assessed using the questionnaire. Regardless, the questionnaire evidently highlighted areas of deficiencies in the KAP of the frontline staff. 9 Furthermore, inferential statistical tests conducted via One-way ANOVA and Independent t-test showed that there was a significant relationship among the KAP variables. Also, while the multiple regression models found no socio demographic variable to be statistically significant, it was evident that both Knowledge and Attitude have statistical significance in determining practice behaviour of frontline staff at Specsavers. Hence, the study concludes that Knowledge and Attitude of frontline staff at Spec savers are key determinate of their practice performance in professional engagements and interactions with clients. This study further recommends improvements to be made via trainings and staff developmental programs.