Interventions to improve school-based eye-care services in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Abstract

ObjectiveTo review interventions improving eye-care services for schoolchildren in low- and middle-income countries.MethodsWe searched online databases (CINAHL, Embase®, ERIC, MEDLINE®, ProQuest, PubMed® and Web of ScienceTM) for articles published between January 2000 and May 2018. Eligible studies evaluated the delivery of school-based eye-care programmes, reporting results in terms of spectacle compliance rates, quality of screening or attitude changes. We considered studies to be ineligible if no follow-up data were reported. Two authors screened titles, abstracts and full-text articles, and we extracted data from eligible full-text articles using the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality rights-based conceptual framework.FindingsOf 24 559 publications screened, 48 articles from 13 countries met the inclusion criteria. Factors involved in the successful provision of school-based eye-care interventions included communication between health services and schools, the willingness of schools to schedule sufficient time, and the support of principals, staff and parents. Several studies found that where the numbers of eye-care specialists are insufficient, training teachers in vision screening enables the provision of a good-quality and cost–effective service. As well as the cost of spectacles, barriers to seeking eye-care included poor literacy, misconceptions and lack of eye health knowledge among parents.ConclusionThe provision of school-based eye-care programmes has great potential to reduce ocular morbidity and developmental delays caused by childhood vision impairment and blindness. Policy-based support, while also attempting to reduce misconceptions and stigma among children and their parents, is crucial for continued access.

Assesment of the QuickSee wavefront autorefractor for characterizing refractive errors in school-age children

“…Consequently, they are not able to benefit from refractive correction. In low-resource settings and areas of conflict, the main causes of UREs have been related to a shortage of eye care professionals, and to a lack of access to resources for vision screening [ 4 , 7 , 8 ]. Even in developed countries with greater access to eyecare, significant prevalence of UREs among children have been found (e.g.…”

Factors That Influence Data Use to Improve Health Service Delivery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…Two reviewers independently appraised each of the included studies. We adopted a similar approach to Burnett et al (2018) and classified studies according to the following 31 : High quality, if more than 90% of the relevant criteria were met Medium quality, if between 60% and 90% of the relevant criteria were met Low quality, if between 30% and less than 60% of the relevant criteria were met Very low quality, if less than 30% of the relevant criteria were met …”

Prevalência De Baixa Acuidade Visual Em Crianças De Uma Escola Da Rede Pública De Ensino

“…A triagem de saúde ocular realizada nas escolas é uma estratégia sensível e custoefetiva na detecção precoce de baixa visão e cegueira e redução da morbidade infantil, adotada principalmente por países em desenvolvimento, onde são comuns barreiras de acesso aos serviços de saúde (4) . O presente estudo evidenciou uma prevalência de baixa AV de 66,87% (n=111) nos escolares, superando a estimativa de 20% das crianças em idade escolar prevista no Caderno temático do PSE (3) .…”

“…A implementação dos programas de saúde ocular e de prevenção de complicações oftalmológicas em países desenvolvidos apresenta custos inigualavelmente mais baixos do que aqueles representados para o tratamento de pacientes com problemas oculares (4,10) . Nesse contexto, o uso de tabelas adaptadas para folha A4 (8) nas práticas de saúde ocular na escola, ou ainda, de aplicativos de smartphone em substituição à Tabela de Snellen impressa, pode ser uma alternativa diferencial de baixo custo e de praticidade na realização dos testes de triagem realizados no âmbito do PSE (27,28) .…”

“…A prevenção de problemas visuais é oportuna no contexto da atenção primária em saúde, tendo-se o ambiente escolar como campo estratégico, já que se pode atingir grande parte das crianças por meio de ações educativas em saúde (4) .…”