Refractive Error Prevalence among School Children in Dadeldhura District of Nepal

Awasthi, Sanjay; Pant, Bhawana; Langaas, Trine

doi:10.3126/kumj.v18i2.33225

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The prevalence of presenting refractive error (19.2%) is higher than the study conducted in Jhapa and far western regions of Nepal. 15,16 Similar to the findings of our study, uncorrected refractive errors accounted for the major cause of visual impairments in the present study. This can partly be attributed to the larger age-range, with myopia increasing with age.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Prevalence of Refractive Error and Ocular Pathologies among School Children: Finding from the School Eye Program of Dhulikhel Hospital

Shrestha

et al. 2021

Kathmandu Univ. Med. J.

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Background Childhood blindness and visual impairments could lead to the onset of blindness among children and adolescents. New cases appear particularly between the ages of 6-15 years and if uncorrected, runs a risk of developing Amblyopia, strabismus. There exists a mounting need to strengthen and modify established school eye health programs in Nepal as per the local needs and conditions. Objective To determine the prevalence of refractive error and ocular pathologies among school children in rural Nepal. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted in nine schools of Kavrepalanchowk and Bhaktapur district with 953 students screened from December 2018 to February 2020. The team of optometrist, ophthalmic assistants and ophthalmologist applied a standard protocol for screening of refractive error as a part of the school eye program of Dhulikhel Hospital. Other standard eye examinations were performed to note the ocular pathologies. The association of socio-demographic factors of students having refractive errors with that in emmetropes was identified using logistic regression analysis. Result A total of 953 students were screened in nine study sites, age ranged from 5-19 years. There were 183 students (19.2%) with refractive errors. Blurred vision was the common complaint reported by 2.5% of students. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed higher age group children (aOR=2.93; 95% CI: 1.62-5.29; P=0.01) and urban area children (aOR=4.37; 95% CI: 0.87-21.98; P=0.07) to have higher odds of refractive error. Conclusion Refractive error is the major eye problem among school children. Despite its high prevalence, there is still a major gap in timely diagnosis and treatment. Regular vision screening and timely treatment is required for better addressing refractive error among school-going children.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Prevalence of Refractive Error and Ocular Pathologies among School Children: Finding from the School Eye Program of Dhulikhel Hospital

Shrestha

et al. 2021

Kathmandu Univ. Med. J.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…The prevalence of Myopia was higher than in studies done at Jhapa and Dadeldhura. 5,6 In a previous study of 3054 children, Myopia was seen in 204 (6.68%) children, hypermetropia in 16 (0.52%) children, and astigmatism in 148 (4.85%) children which is almost similar to our study in which Myopia was seen in 9.4% children followed by astigmatism 5.75%, and hyperopia 3.4%. 7 The major population of the Parsa and Bara district of Nepal is Madhesi people which comprises various cultural groups such as Hindu caste groups, Muslim, Marwaris, Brahmin and Dalit caste groups, ethnic groups like Maithili, Bhojpuri, Awadi, and Bajjika speaking people.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Refractive Error among Children Visiting the Department of Paediatric Opthalmology of a Tertiary Eye Care Center

Gurung,

Kant Gupta

2023

J Nepal Med Assoc

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Introduction: Refractive error is the inability of eyes to focus clearly on images. Visual impairment due to refractive error has a major impact on children's education and daily activities. The hospital has no documentation of the ocular morbidity related to refractive errors in children. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of refractive error in children visiting the Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology of a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the Outpatient Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology in a tertiary care centre from 8 September 2022 to 7 March 2023 after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. A convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Among 3600 children, the prevalence of refractive error was seen in 668 children (18.56%) (15.61-21.51, 95% Confidence Interval). Refractive error was seen in 363 (54.34%) boys and 305 (45.66%) girls. Myopia was found in 340 (50.90%), astigmatism in 207 (30.99%), and hyperopia in 121 (18.11%). Conclusions: The prevalence of refractive error among children attending a tertiary care centre was found to be higher than studies done in similar settings. Regular screening of refractive error for visual impairment is recommended among school going children.

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“…Uncorrected refractive error accounted for the highest proportion of children with ocular pathology (ACTs 4.1% and STs 3.8% and ) similar tostudies in Nepal and India [9,10. ] .The prevalence of refractive error (myopia-0.5 diopters and more; hyperopia 2 diopters and more) among school age children in Nepal is variously reported from 3% among Indo-Aryan children to 21.7% among children of Mongolian descent [10,11,12,13,14,15,16]. The refractive error portion of approximately 4% in this study is consistent with the primarily Indo-Aryan ethnicity in the area.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Visual acuity screening by school teachers in Far West Nepal: A randomized trial of alternate screening models.

Awasthi,

Reddy,

Bassett

2024

Preprint

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Background: School vision screening programs are more effective and less costly in comparison to primary eye care model. However, studies have not examined alternate school visual acuity screening methods in Nepal in terms of accuracy and cost. This study was conducted to validate recent evidence from India of the effectiveness and cost of alternate school visual acuity screening models involving all class teachers (ACTs) versus a few selected teachers (STs) from schools in Far West Nepal. Methods: Nine schools in Far West Nepal were randomly selected for the ACTs which is the intervention arm or STs which is the standard arm. Teachers from both arms were trained to identify children aged 6 years and above with visual acuity 6/9 or worse in either eye as well as obvious ocular abnormalities and refer them to an ophthalmic team from Geta Eye Hospital who visited the schools to examine all children regardless of initial screening. Mean values were compared using student t and Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and proportions were compared between study groups using chi square statistics. Results: A total of 3793 children in 5 ACTs schools and 2144 children in 4 STs schools were included. ACTs (80 teachers) screened 3713 children and STs (9 teachers) screened 2064 children aged 6 to 15 years. ACTs had better sensitivity (95.1% [95% CI: 91.9- 98.2]) and specificity (92.8% [95% CI: 92.0%-93.6%]) compared to STs: sensitivity (73.2% [95% CI: 64.4- 82.0]) and specificity (85.3% [95% CI: 83.8-86.7]). More children from ACTs than STs reached the Geta Eye Hospital for further investigation within 3 months (n= 10/30 [33.3%] versus n= 5/18 [27.7%]) for ACTs and STs respectively but the difference was not statistically significant. The cost of screening per child with refractive error and or other ocular abnormalities was $3.05 for ACTs and $ 5.29 for STs. Conclusion: A school vision screening program involving ACTs in Nepal was more accurate than ST screening in identifying refractive error and or other ocular abnormalities at approximately 60% of the cost.

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Refractive Error Prevalence among School Children in Dadeldhura District of Nepal

Cited by 4 publications

References 25 publications

Prevalence of Refractive Error and Ocular Pathologies among School Children: Finding from the School Eye Program of Dhulikhel Hospital

Prevalence of Refractive Error and Ocular Pathologies among School Children: Finding from the School Eye Program of Dhulikhel Hospital

Refractive Error among Children Visiting the Department of Paediatric Opthalmology of a Tertiary Eye Care Center

Visual acuity screening by school teachers in Far West Nepal: A randomized trial of alternate screening models.

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