Factors Associated with Spectacle-Wear Compliance in School-Aged Mexican Children

Abstract

Compliance with spectacle wear may be very low, even when spectacles are provided free of charge, particularly among older, urban children, who have been shown in many populations to have the highest prevalence of myopia. As screening programs for refractive error become increasingly common throughout the world, new strategies are needed to improve compliance if program resources are to be maximized.

Impact of Free Glasses and a Teacher Incentive on Children's Use of Eyeglasses: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

“…free glasses 3,6,7 and educational interventions to promote spectacle wear 3,12 have generally shown low uptake, the current report demonstrated that free glasses combined with education on their use and a teacher incentive maintained wear in between two-thirds and 90% of children needing them over the course of a school year. The impact of the intervention on spectacle wear at 6 months was greater than that of family wealth, parental spectacle wear, and children's uncorrected VA. Our main study outcome, observed wear at the time of an unannounced examination, might be expected to underestimate true daily use of spectacles somewhat.…”

“…3,6,7,[23][24][25] Observed rates of wear were low, ranging from 13% to 41%. 3,6,7,21,23,24 All of the few studies reporting higher rates (46% by Keay and associates in China, 25 56% by Vincent and associates in Thai refugee camps, 22 and 58% by von-Bischhoffshaussen and associates in Chile 20 ) relied on self-report and/or estimates of teachers or parents, 20,22 and had low (58%-76%) rates of follow-up 20,22 or assessment times as short as 1 month after spectacle distribution. 25 It would appear that longer-term (over the course of a school year) compliance with free spectacles, as measured by objective indicators such as observed wear at unannounced examinations, is low among children without additional interventions.…”

“…3 However, programs in China, 3 Mexico, 6 and Africa 7 have reported poor compliance with free spectacles, with rates of observed, short-term wear at unannounced visits ranging from 13% to 41%. Factors limiting wear of glasses include discomfort or inconvenience, 6,8 concerns over being teased, 6,9 parental opposition, 6,10,11 lack of perceived need, 6,[8][9][10] and fear of damage to the eyes [8][9][10][11] (though a trial 4 has now demonstrated that spectacle wear is in fact protective against age-related declines in uncorrected visual acuity among children). Previous randomized trials of specially designed educational interventions promoting spectacle wear aimed at children, teachers, and parents have demonstrated very modest 3 or no 12 impact on observed use of glasses among children at unannounced follow-up visits.…”

A Descriptive Study on Compliance of Spectacle , Wear in Children of Primary Schools at Qassim Province , Saudi Arabia

“…The dictionary (The Oxford Concise Dictionary) meaning of compliance refers to "Obedience to a request or command", in respect to our study, we used to prescribe for spectacles but it is useful only at time when child patients are wearing them. Refractive errors are commonly found as the causative agent for visual impairment in the most surveyed population and this impairment is easily treatable (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) . Previous studies shows prevalence of refractive error differs with geographic location, age, gender, education level, and amount of near work (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) .…”

“…Refractive errors are commonly found as the causative agent for visual impairment in the most surveyed population and this impairment is easily treatable (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) . Previous studies shows prevalence of refractive error differs with geographic location, age, gender, education level, and amount of near work (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) . Moderate hyperopia can be overcome by accommodation and many school aged children are most commonly found with myopic errors, these conditions have significance in economic, educational effectiveness including poor academic performance, reduced school performance, and social activity (5) .…”