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Evaluation of Teachers’ Performance of Vision Screening in Primary School Children in Port Harcourt
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the ability of primary school teachers to
perform simple vision screening on their school pupils, so as
to determine if they can provide the first level of school vision
screening services, and refer to the ophthalmologist for further
evaluation when necessary.
Methods: Using a multi-stage sampling technique, 130 teachers
were randomly selected from 13 schools in Port Harcourt
Local Government Area of Rivers State. They were trained for
six hours at a skills acquisition workshop on vision disorders
in children and vision screening using Snellen visual acuity
charts. Subsequently, they screened 1,300 of their pupils, who
were all re-screened by the research team.
Results: One hundred and ten female (84.6%) and 20 male
teachers (15.4%) participated in the study. Seventy (53.8%)
were from public schools while 60 (46.2%) were from private
schools. The sensitivity of the teachers’ visual acuity test,
compared to that of the research team, was 53.3%, with a high
specificity of 94.6%. The positive and negative predictive
values of the teachers’ test were also high. The teachers’ visual
acuity measurements showed moderate agreement with that
of the research team with a Kappa score of 0.604.
Conclusion: The study concluded that trained primary school
teachers can effectively perform vision screening in school
children using Snellen visual acuity charts for early detection
and treatment of vision disorders in school pupils.
perform simple vision screening on their school pupils, so as
to determine if they can provide the first level of school vision
screening services, and refer to the ophthalmologist for further
evaluation when necessary.
Methods: Using a multi-stage sampling technique, 130 teachers
were randomly selected from 13 schools in Port Harcourt
Local Government Area of Rivers State. They were trained for
six hours at a skills acquisition workshop on vision disorders
in children and vision screening using Snellen visual acuity
charts. Subsequently, they screened 1,300 of their pupils, who
were all re-screened by the research team.
Results: One hundred and ten female (84.6%) and 20 male
teachers (15.4%) participated in the study. Seventy (53.8%)
were from public schools while 60 (46.2%) were from private
schools. The sensitivity of the teachers’ visual acuity test,
compared to that of the research team, was 53.3%, with a high
specificity of 94.6%. The positive and negative predictive
values of the teachers’ test were also high. The teachers’ visual
acuity measurements showed moderate agreement with that
of the research team with a Kappa score of 0.604.
Conclusion: The study concluded that trained primary school
teachers can effectively perform vision screening in school
children using Snellen visual acuity charts for early detection
and treatment of vision disorders in school pupils.
