Document
Visual acuity and refractive status of Omani students with refractive error in grades 1, 4 and 7 : a retrospective cohort study.
Identifier
DOI: 10.4103/0974-620X.176097
Contributors
Al-Asbali, Tariq., Author
Khandekar, Rajiv., Author
Publisher
Medknow Publications.
Gregorian
2016-02
Language
English
Subject
English abstract
Background: The visual and refractive status were assessed for grade 7 students in seven governorates in Oman. The health records were reviewed to assess the rationale for their previous school-based vision screening. Methods: A representative sample of 7 th grade students with a refractive error (RE) was examined by optometrists in 2012. Their compliance with spectacle wear was also reviewed. Each student's vision and refractive status in grades 1 and 4 were compared with the status in grade 7. Each student's use of eye care services between grade 4 and 7 was evaluated to determine the uptake of existing eye services for vision problems. Results: This study had 286, 7 th grade students with RE (myopia [94%], hyperopia [4%] and astigmatism [>1D] [2%]). The types of RE between genders in each grade were not significant (P > 0.05). During their vision screening when they were in grade 4, 5 of 13 moderate myopes (>-2D to - 6D) and 3 of 4 high myopes (>-6D) were detected and managed. Ten students with moderate and high myopia were already using spectacles before they were screened in grade 7. The compliance for spectacle wear was 62% in grade 7. Between grades, 4 and 7, 140 (49%) students did not visit eye clinics or an optician. Conclusions: Refractive services in grade 4 were an additional initiative from the eye health care systems in Oman to the actual World Health Organization recommendations of conducting vision screening and RE corrections at grade 7 and 10. However, this was not proved to be significantly effective in early detection, and even the uptake of eye care services by school children was also low.
Member of
ISSN
0974-620X
Resource URL
Category
Journal articles