Prevalence of refractive errors in pre-school and school children of Debark and Kola Diba towns, North-western Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: The problem of visual impairment among school children is so prevalent that it greatly reduces children's ability to study and attend classes and finally leads to the formation of grave social consequences. As it is seen from hospital reports, quite a considerable number of school children are suffering from some form of refractive errors, which could be easily corrected by the application of appropriate glasses.


Objectives: To determine the prevalence of visual impairment due to refractive errors in pre-school and school children aged 5 to 15 years in two towns of northwestern Ethiopia and, to investigate the influence of some factors on the problem of low vision due to refractive errors.


Design: The study was a cross-sectional survey.


Methods: One thousand one hundred thirty four pre-school and school children participated in the study. Level of visual acuity - visual acuity of <6/12 in either eye or both eyes was taken as a cut off level for low visual impairment and the three possible refractive states of the eye were studied. Other cut off levels were also considered for the sake of making comparisons with the findings of other similar studies.


Results: The prevalence rate of low visual impairment due to refractive errors was 7.6% and myopia was observed to be the most dominant state of refractive error (i.e., 98%), indicating a major visual problem in school children. Among the various influencing factors considered, age of child was found to be significantly associated with the presence of refractive errors (P<.003), while sex did not have such associations (P>.6).


Conclusions: Development of vision testing programs in schools and provision of lenses at a reduced cost for those with refractive errors and who cannot afford to buy the glasses are recommended.


[Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 17(2):117-124]