Eyeglasses for All

Purpose : To implement and evaluate a volunteer managed vision screening programme in schools.

Method : A month long project to record the Snellen visual acuity in school children was implemented in 31 schools of Jodhpur in the month of July 2008 by a team of international student volunteers. The cut off vision for refraction was taken as 6/12 for 6 years old and 6/9 for those above this age. Children were referred to the base hospital for refraction and low cost subsidized glasses every evening. Besides recording the Snellen acuity, color vision screening and ophthalmic examinations were also done on site. At the end of the project, the records were analyzed to assess the impact.

Results : A total of 6053 children were examined. 627 school children were found to have defective vision and were advised refraction giving a prevalence rate of 10.4 %. The compliance rate for refraction was 40.8 % and 256 children who came to the base hospital were provided spectacles at a subsidized cost of Rs. 30 each. Compliance could not be improved in spite of concerted efforts of teachers and team alike. The false positive rate in the screening procedure was 3.7 percent indicative of a well-performed screening. In the refracted children 33 had amblyopia [9 ammetropic and rest anisometropic or meridonial].

Conclusions : An effective school screening programme with a low false positive rate can be implemented with the help of volunteers. Compliance to refraction is poor and needs to be improved.