Implementing a School Vision Screening Program in Botswana Using Smartphone Technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-258
Author(s):  
Tomas Andersen ◽  
Maipelo Jeremiah ◽  
Keitumetse Thamane ◽  
Ryan Littman-Quinn ◽  
Zambo Dikai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Screening Program ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
School Vision ◽  
Smartphone Technology

scholarly journals Is Prematurity a Risk Factor for Refractive Errors in Children? Results from School Vision Screening Program

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (42) ◽  
pp. 2380-2383
Author(s):  
Kajal Seema Sukumaran ◽  
Jayalekshmi Thankamma ◽  
Prasenna Meleaveetil ◽  
Kavitha Syamala
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Preterm Infants ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Refractive Errors ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
School Vision ◽  
Preterm Group

BACKGROUND The prevalence of refractive errors is reported to be higher in children born preterm. Factors like gestational age, birth weight and retinopathy of prematurity status have a significant impact on the refractive development in preterm infants. Population based long term follow up studies on the refractive status in preterm infants are limited. We designed this study to assess whether prematurity is a risk factor for refractive errors in children. METHODS This study was conducted among children aged 5 - 16 years who participated in the school vision screening program over a period of one year. All children underwent detailed ocular examination including measurement of best corrected visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction and fundoscopy. Visual acuity was assessed using an internally illuminated Snellen’s chart at 6 meters. Objective refraction by streak retinoscopy after instilling 1 % cyclopentolate eye drops was done in all children with visual acuity ≤ 6 / 9. Children were divided into two groups based on their gestational age at birth - preterm group and full-term group. Preterm birth was defined as childbirth before 37 completed weeks of gestation. Children were enrolled in the study only if the hospital birth document showing gestational age and birth weight was available. Children with co-existing organic disease affecting the eye contributing to the diminished visual acuity such as congenital cataract, glaucoma, and corneal opacities were excluded from the study. Those who had undergone any ocular surgery were also excluded. RESULTS One thousand two hundred and ninety-five children were enrolled in the study of which 700 (54.1 %) were boys and 595 (45.9 %) were girls. Median age of the enrolled children was 12 years. The number of pre-term births was 287 (22.2 %). Of the 1295 students screened, 273 (21 %) had refractive errors. Among the children with refractive errors, astigmatism was the most common refractive error (10.6 %), followed by myopia (8.5 %) and hypermetropia (1.9 %). Refractive errors were statistically more prevalent in preterm group (34.1 %), when compared with term born children (17.3 %), p = < 0.001. Compared to the term born children, preterm group had significantly higher prevalence of myopia; 16.4 % vs 6.3 % (p = < 0.001) and astigmatism; 15.3 % vs 9.3% (p = 0.003). There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of hypermetropia among the two groups; 2.4 vs. 1.8 (p = 0.477). CONCLUSIONS There is strong association between prematurity and refractive errors. These findings prompt long term monitoring of the refractive and visual outcome in preterm infants for diagnosing refractive errors at the earliest. This helps to prevent the consequent amblyopia and the ensuing permanent visual function deficits. KEYWORDS Prematurity, Refractive Error, Myopia, Hypermetropia, Astigmatism

scholarly journals Pilot Study: A Review of Personnel Involved in School Vision Screening and the Training Module in Betong, Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurul Farhana AB ◽  
Chen AH ◽  
Abdul Rahim MN ◽  
Goh PP
Keyword(s):  
School Health ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Training Module ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Government Schools ◽  
School Vision ◽  
Lower Accuracy ◽  
Health Database ◽  
The Government

Introduction: School vision screening program is a scheduled program under the Ministry of Health, Malaysia for 7, 12 and 15 years-old children in the government schools. The aim of this study was to review the school vision screening program from the perspective of the personnel involved as the screener. Methods: The evaluation of the performance of the screener was based upon the accurate referrals' outcome from the school health database of Betong Division in Sarawak, Malaysia in the year of 2008. Results: The total accuracy of the referrals was 50.7%. Lower accuracy of the referrals was found significantly associated with Grade 1 [χ2 (2.N=304) = 28.810, p<0.001, OR 4.472, CI.95= 0.843=2.335] and among Native Iban [χ2 (2.N=304) = 7.901, p<0.05, OR 1.502, CI.95= 0.935=2.414].  Conclusions: Further review on the training modules demanded improvement and enhancement to suggest that training module might be one of the contributing factors on the performance of the screener.

scholarly journals Epidemiological Findings of Refractive Errors and Amblyopia among the Schoolchildren in Hatta Region of the United Arab Emirates

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Salam Chettian Kandi ◽  
Hayat Ahmad Khan
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Refractive Error ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Refractive Errors ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Screening Programs ◽  
School Based

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Uncorrected refractive errors and amblyopia pose a major problem affecting schoolchildren. We had previously observed that many schoolchildren in the Hatta region presented to the ophthalmology clinic with uncorrected refractive errors and amblyopia, which led us to undertake this research. As per the WHO, the term “visual impairment” can be “low vision” or “blindness.” Based on the presenting vision, “low vision” is defined for children who have vision of &#x3c;6/18 to 3/60 or having visual field loss to &#x3c;20° in the better-seeing eye. Children defined to have “blindness” have presenting vision of &#x3c;3/60 or corresponding visual field of &#x3c;10°. <b><i>Purpose:</i></b> To estimate the magnitude of uncorrected refractive errors and amblyopia among the schoolchildren aged 6–19 years and to assess the efficacy of school-based refractive error screening programs in the Hatta region of the United Arab Emirates. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> An epidemiological, cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted on the entire student population studying in the government schools of the region. Those who failed the Snellen visual acuity chart test and those who were wearing spectacles were evaluated comprehensively by the researcher in the Department of Ophthalmology of the Hatta Hospital. Data were entered in the Refractive Error Study in School Children (RESC) eye examination form recommended by the WHO, and were later transferred to Excel sheets and analyzed by SPSS. <b><i>Results:</i></b> 1,591 students were screened and evaluated from the end of 2016 to mid-2017. About 21.37% (<i>n</i> = 340) had impaired vision with 20.9% (<i>n</i> = 333) refractive errors, of which 58% were uncorrected. Among the refractive error group, 19% (64 subjects) had amblyopia (4% of total students). The incidence of low vision was 9.5% and blindness was 0.38%. Low vision was found to be 9.5% and blindness 0.38%, taking in to account presenting visual acuity rather than best-corrected visual acuity for defining low vision and blindness. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> A significant number of students were detected to have uncorrected refractive errors among the vision impaired group (59%, <i>n</i> = 197) despite a school-based vision screening program in place. Seventy-eight percent of the amblyopia cases (<i>n</i> = 50) were found to be in the 11–19 years age group. Noncompliance with optical corrections was the reason for the high number of cases. A rigorous vision screening program and refractive services, complimented with awareness among parents and teachers, are recommended.

scholarly journals Unexpectedly high prevalence of asthenopia in Australian school children identified by the CISS survey tool

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara M. Junghans ◽  
Serap Azizoglu ◽  
Sheila G. Crewther
Keyword(s):  
Handheld Devices ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
School Students ◽  
Visual Discomfort ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
School Vision ◽  
Accommodative Convergence ◽  
The Mean ◽  
General School

Abstract Background To date there have been few systematic attempts to establish the general prevalence of asthenopia in unselected populations of school-aged children. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine whether the incorporation of Borsting et al’s 2003 Revised Convergence-Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) into a general school vision screening could aid in the identification of children with visual discomfort and indicate the need for further investigation. Methods Vision screening of an unselected middle school population investigated and analysed the incidence of self-reported nearwork-related visual discomfort via the CISS along with distance and near visual acuities plus non-cycloplegic autorefraction using a Shin-Nippon NVision-K 5001. Results Of the 384 unselected students approached in Grades 6–9, 353 participated (92.2%, mean 13.2 ± 1.4 years). The mean CISS score for the population without amblyopia and/or strabismus (96.0% of all students) was 16.8 ± 0.6, i.e., 45% of students in this cohort had CISS scores greater than one standard deviation above the mean found by Borsting et al. in 2003 during their validation study of the CISS on 9 to 18 year old children without binocular anomalies. Regression analyses indicated significantly higher (p < 0.001) mean CISS scores for the 3.2% who were hyperopes ≥ + 2.00D by non-cycloplegic autorefraction (27.7 ± 14.7) and for those who were amblyopic (24.3 ± 6.6) or strabismic (34.0 ± 9.8). The mean CISS score of 31.6 ± 9.0 for non-amblyopic/strabismic students having near vision poorer than 0.1 LogMAR was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than for those with good acuity. Conclusion The most important finding of this study was the high incidence of asthenopia in an unselected population and that refractive status per se was not a major contributor to CISS scores. The results highlight the usefulness of the CISS questionnaire for assessment of visual discomfort in school vision screenings and the need for future exploration of near binocular vision status as a potential driver of asthenopia in school students, especially given current trends for frequent daily use of computers and handheld devices and necessarily prolonged accommodative-convergence effort at near, both at school and at home.

Stereopsis Testing in a Preschool Vision Screening Program

1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 298-302
Author(s):  
Mark S Ruttum ◽  
Susan M Bence ◽  
Deborah Alcorn
Keyword(s):  
Screening Program ◽  
Vision Screening

scholarly journals School vision screening programmes in reducing uncorrected refractive error among children in Low and Middle-Income countries-LMIC (systematic review)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 91-105
Author(s):  
Abraham Opare ◽  
Leila H Abdullahi ◽  
Deon Minnies ◽  
Colin Cook ◽  
Maylene Shung-King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
School Children ◽  
Refractive Error ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
School Vision ◽  
Uncorrected Refractive Error

ackground: The prevalence of uncorrected refractive error among school-age children is on the rise with detrimental effect on academic performance and socio-economic status of those affected. School vision screening programmes appear to be an effective way of identifying children with uncorrected refractive errors so early intervention can be made. Despite the increasing popularity of school vision screening programmes over the past few years, there is a lot of debate on its effectiveness in reducing the proportion of children with uncorrected refractive error in the long term, especially in settings where resources are limited. Some studies argue that school vision screening programmes are effective while other studies have reported otherwise. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of school vision screening programmes in reducing uncorrected refractive error among children in low and middle income countries using evidence from published studies. Methods and findings: A comprehensive and systematic strategy was used to search various databases including PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) which contains the Cochrane Eyes and vision Trial Register, the Cochrane Library, Medline (1980-2018), CINAHL, Academic Search Premier, Web of Science, the WHO’s Library Information System, Africa-Wide and Scopus. The search was restricted to articles published in English. Randomized control trials, cross-sectional studies, case-control studies and cohort studies were included in this review. Participants included school children with refractive error. Full-text review of search results, data extraction and risk of bias assessment was done by two independent reviewers. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach and data were pooled using the random-effect model. Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria. This review found moderate certainty evidence indicating that school vision screenings may be effective in reducing uncorrected refractive error among school children by 81% (95% CI: 77%; 84%), 24% (95% CI: 13%; 35%) and 20% (95% CI: 18%; 22%) at two, six, and more than six months respectively after its introduction. Results: Results of this review also suggest that school vision screening may be effective in achieving 54% (95% CI: 25%; 100%), 57% (95% CI: 46%; 70%), 37% (95% CI: 26%; 52%), and 32% (95% CI: 14%; 72%) spectacle-wear compliance among school children at less than three months, at three months, at six months and at more than six months respectively after its introduction (low to moderate certainty evidence). This review further found moderate to high certainty evidence indicating that school vision screening, together with provision of spectacles, may be relatively cost effective, safe and has a positive impact on the academic performance of school children. Conclusion: The findings of this review show that school vision screening, together with provision of spectacles, may be a safe and cost-effective way of reducing the proportion of children with uncorrected refractive error, with long-term positive impact on academic performance of children. Most of the studies included in this review were, however, conducted in Asia. Research to investigate the effectiveness of school vision screening programmes in other parts of the world like Africa where few studies have been conducted is highly recommended

Vision Screening in Central Iowa

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 239-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeri K. Gustafson ◽  
Marilyn J. Kinne ◽  
Donita G. Little ◽  
MaryAnn T. Strawhacker
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Screening Practices ◽  
Education Agency ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Screening Procedures ◽  
Visual History

This study assessed the vision-screening practices of all preschools and elementary schools during the spring of 2000 in the Heartland Area Education Agency (AEA) in central Iowa. Surveys were returned by 7% of the preschools and 56% of the elementary schools. Survey questions were drafted based on recommendations from the Iowa Vision Screening Program Guidelines, which were distributed to all Iowa school districts in 1997. Areas surveyed included vision-screening personnel, attainment of students’ visual history, rescreening practices, referral and follow-up, and screening procedures. Survey results indicated that there is a need for improvement to standardize vision-screening procedures within Heartland AEA. Time and effort are invested in activities that are not recommended, and not enough effort is being put into recommended activities such as obtaining vision histories, rescreening to avoid overreferrals, and follow-up to make sure students receive required treatment.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document