The Need of School Screening and Refractive Error Prevalence in School Children in Suburban Areas of Gurgaon District
Background: The largest population of youth in the world is with INDIA, and this makes them the most important contributors to our economy and future of the country. Sight is the main driving sense for knowledge and skill development, thereby it makes perfect sense to ensure that proper and timely e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Delhi Journal of Ophthalmology |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/dljo.dljo_50_23 |
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| author | Aditya Sethi Arun Sethi Reena Sethi |
| author_facet | Aditya Sethi Arun Sethi Reena Sethi |
| author_sort | Aditya Sethi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background:
The largest population of youth in the world is with INDIA, and this makes them the most important contributors to our economy and future of the country. Sight is the main driving sense for knowledge and skill development, thereby it makes perfect sense to ensure that proper and timely eyecare is provided to the youth of INDIA to ensure a safe and stable future of the country. Thus came the idea of an effective school screening program to provide basic eye screening and treatment when required to children in school going age and also gather information of the refractive error prevalence in this age group for this population.
Methods:
The SCHOOL SCREENING program aimed at the NGO and government schools in the area of operations, where the children and their families were unable to afford eye care services was started. All children screened underwent a comprehensive eye examination at the school itself, including the slit lamp examination via a handheld slit lamp, fundus examination via a non mydriatic camera, refraction via an auto refractometer, photoscreener and/or a retinoscopy and subjective refraction.
Results:
A total of 18,939 students were screened over a time period of 18 months covering a total of 39 schools in the Gurgaon belt, in its first phase of program. 11.8% of all school students had some form of refractive error. For a large majority of the students, this was the first time they had their eyes screened and received a pair of glasses. Girl students were found to have a higher refractive error rate 13.3% compared to boy students 10.1% across the schools screened. Myopia was the commonest type of refractive error, around 1139 students were diagnosed with myopia. 410 children out of these were referred to base hospital for further treatment these included children with strabismus 2.1%, Xerophthalmia 1.1%, Congenital cataract 0.8% and other 0.3%.
Conclusion:
School going children require perfect vision else they can be discouraged and there may be a major burden to the Economy of any developing nation, thus a program with screening and intervention aiming at populations that can’t afford such basic needs like spectacles is a must in all zones of the country. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-398b1bc6fd224d43adc4937a013f31a7 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0972-0200 2454-2784 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Delhi Journal of Ophthalmology |
| spelling | doaj-art-398b1bc6fd224d43adc4937a013f31a72025-08-20T01:48:35ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsDelhi Journal of Ophthalmology0972-02002454-27842022-07-01325828610.4103/dljo.dljo_50_23The Need of School Screening and Refractive Error Prevalence in School Children in Suburban Areas of Gurgaon DistrictAditya SethiArun SethiReena SethiBackground: The largest population of youth in the world is with INDIA, and this makes them the most important contributors to our economy and future of the country. Sight is the main driving sense for knowledge and skill development, thereby it makes perfect sense to ensure that proper and timely eyecare is provided to the youth of INDIA to ensure a safe and stable future of the country. Thus came the idea of an effective school screening program to provide basic eye screening and treatment when required to children in school going age and also gather information of the refractive error prevalence in this age group for this population. Methods: The SCHOOL SCREENING program aimed at the NGO and government schools in the area of operations, where the children and their families were unable to afford eye care services was started. All children screened underwent a comprehensive eye examination at the school itself, including the slit lamp examination via a handheld slit lamp, fundus examination via a non mydriatic camera, refraction via an auto refractometer, photoscreener and/or a retinoscopy and subjective refraction. Results: A total of 18,939 students were screened over a time period of 18 months covering a total of 39 schools in the Gurgaon belt, in its first phase of program. 11.8% of all school students had some form of refractive error. For a large majority of the students, this was the first time they had their eyes screened and received a pair of glasses. Girl students were found to have a higher refractive error rate 13.3% compared to boy students 10.1% across the schools screened. Myopia was the commonest type of refractive error, around 1139 students were diagnosed with myopia. 410 children out of these were referred to base hospital for further treatment these included children with strabismus 2.1%, Xerophthalmia 1.1%, Congenital cataract 0.8% and other 0.3%. Conclusion: School going children require perfect vision else they can be discouraged and there may be a major burden to the Economy of any developing nation, thus a program with screening and intervention aiming at populations that can’t afford such basic needs like spectacles is a must in all zones of the country.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/dljo.dljo_50_23refractive error school screening myopia pediatric refraction |
| spellingShingle | Aditya Sethi Arun Sethi Reena Sethi The Need of School Screening and Refractive Error Prevalence in School Children in Suburban Areas of Gurgaon District Delhi Journal of Ophthalmology refractive error school screening myopia pediatric refraction |
| title | The Need of School Screening and Refractive Error Prevalence in School Children in Suburban Areas of Gurgaon District |
| title_full | The Need of School Screening and Refractive Error Prevalence in School Children in Suburban Areas of Gurgaon District |
| title_fullStr | The Need of School Screening and Refractive Error Prevalence in School Children in Suburban Areas of Gurgaon District |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Need of School Screening and Refractive Error Prevalence in School Children in Suburban Areas of Gurgaon District |
| title_short | The Need of School Screening and Refractive Error Prevalence in School Children in Suburban Areas of Gurgaon District |
| title_sort | need of school screening and refractive error prevalence in school children in suburban areas of gurgaon district |
| topic | refractive error school screening myopia pediatric refraction |
| url | https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/dljo.dljo_50_23 |
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