Evaluation of a tele-refraction model to address the lack of human resources in Kenya.
Tele-refraction prescriptions closely matched in-person refraction results in most eyes.
Evaluation of a tele-refraction model to address the lack of human resources in Kenya.
Uncorrected Refractive Errors (Uncorrected Refractive Errors) constitute a significant public health concern in Kenya, where limited availability of qualified eye care professionals continues to impede equitable access to refractive services.
A total of 92 patients (184 eyes) were examined.
spectacle prescriptions matched in-person eye exams closely, within a safe error margin
The study demonstrated a high level of clinical concordance between the telerefraction model and the conventional gold-standard refraction method.
The mean difference in spherical equivalent (SE) for objective refraction was minimal (+0.08 D), indicating negligible bias between the two techniques.
Furthermore, for clinically significant astigmatism, axis alignment showed complete conformity within the 10 degrees tolerance range across all cases.
The tele-refraction model using the ClickCheck™ device, combined with remotely guided subjective refraction, demonstrated accuracy, reliability, and non-inferiority when compared with conventional in-person refraction.
These findings substantiate the clinical validity of tele-refraction, which holds the potential to mitigate the acute shortage of eye care professionals and to enhance equitable access to refractive error correction services among underserved populations in Kenya.