142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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303007
Qualitative Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention Providing Corrective Lenses to Low-Income Latino Elementary Students

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 8:50 AM - 9:10 AM

Rebecca Dudovitz, MD, MSHS , Department of Pediatrics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Nilufar Izadpanah, BS , Department of Pediatrics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Wendy Slusser, MD, MS , Department of Pediatrics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background: About 20% of school-age children have a vision problem identifiable by screening, over 80% of which can be corrected with glasses. Visual deficits have been posited as contributing to poor academic performance, disruptive behavior, and even school disengagement/dropout. However few studies investigate whether correcting vision is associated with improved academic or health outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of providing corrective lenses for children with visual deficits on teachers’, parents’ and students’ perceptions of academic performance, classroom behavior, and health.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative evaluation of Vision To Learn (VTL), a school-based program providing free corrective lenses to low-income students in Los Angeles. Students, parents and teachers from 3 elementary schools served by VTL participated in focus groups regarding the impact of poor vision and receiving corrective lenses. Data was digitally recorded, transcribed and analyzed by 3 independent coders using a grounded theory approach to identify themes.

Results: Nine focus groups were held with 20 parents, 21 students, and 25 teachers. Participants described how visual deficits contributed to students’ poor focus, giving up, and poor class participation; receiving corrective lenses improved focus, effort, schoolwork completion, and school performance; uncorrected poor vision contributed to significant emotional stress; receiving services through VTL improved psychosocial wellbeing; and how serving students in school decreased stigma, reducing the gap between corrective lens ownership and use.

Conclusion: Corrective lenses positively impact school function and psychosocial wellbeing of students. School-based programs to increase ownership and use of glasses might improve child health and academic outcomes.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe parent’s, teacher’s and student’s perceptions of how visual deficits impact school function and psychosocial well-being. Demonstrate how providing corrective lenses improves perceived school function and health for low-income, Latino elementary school students. Identify strengths of using a school-based vision program in terms of addressing both the logistic and social barriers to using corrective lenses.

Keyword(s): School-Based Health, Vision Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have served as an principal or co-investigator on multiple studies examining the relationship between access to health services and school function. My research interests include identifying ways to harness the school environment to promote health, including providing vision care in schools.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3075.1: Children's vision and eye care needs