Refractive error in school children in Agona  Swedru, Ghana

Ovenseri-Ogbomo, Godwin; Assien, R.

doi:10.4102/aveh.v69i2.129

Cited by 36 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The proportion of children who had previously had an eye examination in this study (0.6%) is comparable to 0.58% reported for rural India 6 but slightly more than the 0.3% reported for school children in Agona District of the Central Region of Ghana 21 . It is considerably less than 30.3% among students in Tanzania, 22 , 42.3% in Egypt 15 , and 2.7% in South Africa.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Prevalence of refractive error among school children in the Cape Coast Municipality, Ghana

Ovenseri-Ogbomo¹,

Omuemu²

2010

OPTO

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Uncorrected refractive errors continue to remain a public health problem among different population groups. Among school children, it has a considerable impact on learning and academic achievement especially in under-served and under-resourced communities. There is a dearth of information about the magnitude of the problem in Ghana. A school based crosssectional study was carried out to estimate the prevalence and distribution of refractive error among school children in the Cape Coast Municipality of Central Region of Ghana. A total of 1103 school children were enumerated out of which 961 underwent a full eye examination. The children were aged between five and 19 years (mean = 10.5 ± 3.4 years, 95% confidence interval [

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Prevalence of refractive error among school children in the Cape Coast Municipality, Ghana

Ovenseri-Ogbomo¹,

Omuemu²

2010

OPTO

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“…But the fogging technique as used herein has been reported in previous studies. 16 The results of this study showed that 32.1% of the children examined had eye problems, this finding being higher than the results in other studies within Nigeria. In Anambra, a 6.1% prevalence in eye diseases was found among school children, 10 whereas in a similar study carried out in the northern part of Nigeria, 22.6% was reported as the prevalence of ocular disorder among children who participated in the school eye screening.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 66%

Visual status and prevalence of eye disorders among school-age children in southern Nigeria

Ekpenyong

Naidoo

Ahaiwe

et al. 2017

African Vision and Eye Health

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School surveys and hospital-based studies on the distribution of eye conditions and diseases have indicated that conjunctivitis, refractive errors, corneal scarring and injuries are some of the major eye conditions affecting Nigerian children. 5,6,7,8,9,10 The prevalence of blindness across all age groups in Cross River State (CRS) in Nigeria, according to the report of the state population-based survey on blindness and visual impairment in 2006, was 0.8%, and 'the major causes of blindness, defined as presenting visual acuity of less than 3/60, were refractive error, Aim: This study assessed the types and prevalence of eye problems among school-age children in Cross River State (CRS), Nigeria. Method:The study design was a cross-sectional analytic survey of 2418 school children aged 6-17 years from seven public and three private schools in CRS, selected using the multistage random sampling technique. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee, CRS Ministry of Health, Nigeria. The following tests were carried out on all children enrolled in the study: researcher-administered semi-structured questionnaires, LogMAR visual acuity measurements, external and internal eye examinations, non-cycloplegic auto-refractions, retinoscopy and subjective refractions. Quality assurance was carried out to validate the data collected, and data were analysed using SPSS and EPI info.Results: A total of 2418 school children were enumerated, and 2110 (87.3%) were examined; 1117 (52.9%) were girls, and 1250 (59.2%) were 6-11 years old, while 860 (40.8%) were 12-17 years old, and 77% attended public schools. The majority, 1895 (89.9%) of the children examined, had never had an eye examination. The prevalence of eye diseases among the school children was 32.1%, and the major causes were conjunctivitis 397 (18.8%; confidence interval [CI] 19.2-13.0), refractive error 243 (11.5%; CI 10.2-13.0), glaucoma suspects 52 (2.5%; CI 1.9-3.2), amblyopia 7 (0.3%; CI 0.0-0.7) and corneal opacity 4 (0.2%; CI 0.1-0.5). Analysis using chi-square tests and logistic regression shows a positive higher association of refractive error in private (16.7%) than public schools (9.9%) (crude odds ratio [COR] 1.8150; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.9129, p < 0.001), higher socio-economic status of parents (COR 2.3402, AOR 1.9819, p < 0.001), older age group (COR 1.7258, AOR 1.8202, p < 0.001) and girls (13.1%) versus boys (9.8%) (COR 0.7200, AOR 0.7144, p < 0.001). Conclusion:Physical and eye health examination of children before school entry is strongly recommended. The application of 2 D lens for children who fail a standard visual acuity test should be routine during vision screening to ensure that significant refractive errors are not missed. Visual status and prevalence of eye disorders among school-age children in southern NigeriaRead online:Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to read online.

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“…In a study in Debark and Kola Diba towns, northern Ethiopia, the prevalence of visual impairment due to refractive errors in schoolchildren was 7.6 per cent . In Ghana, visual impairment (VA of 6/12 or worse in the better eye) was present in 4.5 per cent of the children examined . In a study conducted in India, 5.1 per cent of children in schools had VA of worse than 6/12 in the better eye .…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

Prevalence of refractive errors among schoolchildren in rural central Ethiopia

Mehari¹,

Yimer²

2013

Clinical and Experimental Optometry

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Background The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of refractive errors and visual impairment among schoolchildren in rural central Ethiopia. Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted from November 2010 to January 2011 among 5,470 schoolchildren from 14 schools, of whom 4,238 (aged 7–18 years) were screened for refractive errors. In all participants, uncorrected vision and best corrected visual acuity were determined and those with a visual acuity of 6/12 or worse, underwent a complete ophthalmic examination to determine the cause of visual impairment. Myopia was defined as a spherical equivalent of ‐0.50 dioptre (D) or greater in one or both eyes and hyperopia as a spherical equivalent of +2.00 D or greater. A cylindrical power of ‐0.50 DC (D cylinder) or greater was considered as astigmatism. Chi‐square was used to test differences in proportions. Differences were considered to be statistically significant at the five per cent level. Result Of the 4,238 children, 405 (9.5 per cent) were visually impaired and of these 267 children were diagnosed as having refractive errors, with an overall prevalence of 6.3 per cent, comprised of 6.1 per cent in boys and 6.6 per cent in girls. Myopia is the most prevalent refractive error; accounting for 6.0 per cent, followed by compound myopic astigmatism 1.2 per cent, then simple myopic astigmatism 0.5 per cent, mixed astigmatism 0.26 per cent and finally hyperopia 0.33 per cent. Reasons for visual acuity of 6/12 or worse in the better eye were found to be refractive error (65.9 per cent), corneal problems (12.8 per cent) and amblyopia (9.6 per cent). The prevalence of manifest strabismus in the study group was 1.1 per cent (n = 45). Conclusion The study concluded that uncorrected refractive error is a common cause of visual impairment among schoolchildren in rural central Ethiopia. This indicates the need for regular school‐screening programs that provide glasses at low cost or free of charge for those who have refractive errors.

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Refractive error in school children in Agona Swedru, Ghana

Cited by 36 publications

References 10 publications

Prevalence of refractive error among school children in the Cape Coast Municipality, Ghana

Prevalence of refractive error among school children in the Cape Coast Municipality, Ghana

Visual status and prevalence of eye disorders among school-age children in southern Nigeria

Prevalence of refractive errors among schoolchildren in rural central Ethiopia

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