Vision impairment among schoolchildren assessed by mid-level technicians and schoolteachers
ABSTRACT
Background: Childhood visual impairment is often due to uncorrected refractive error. To assess childhood visual impairment in schoolchildren in cooperation with schoolteachers in a rural district in Bangladesh.
Methods: Visual acuity data were collected from 13277 children aged 7 to 11 from 192 institutes, including 176 primary schools and 16 Islamic education institute of Narail Upazila, from 30 November 2022 to 20 August 2023. Distance visual acuity was measured using a Snellen visual acuity chart, and any visual impairment was defined if the presenting visual acuity was worse than 6/6D.
Results: The average age of the children was nine years, and 6866 (52.5%) were female. The proportion of any visual impairment was 1.7%, with a significant difference in rural (1.5%) and urban (5.2%) areas, p<0.001. Logistic regression analysis revealed that visual impairment was 31% higher among boys, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.31 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.71) than girls and 227% higher in urban areas (OR 3.27, 95% CI: 2.25-4.73) than rural areas. Mothers with occupation daily labourers (OR 4.34, 95% CI: 1.55-12.2) or who cannot work (OR 6.32, 95% CI: 1.45-27.5) had a higher prevalence of visual impairment than homemakers.
Conclusion: The study demonstrates that the prevalence of vision impairment is significantly higher in urban areas, where schoolteachers can help screen school students for vision impairment early. Low socioeconomic status, such as profession with daily labourers, was associated with a higher proportion of visual impairment.