Optometrist-led vision screening: Enhancing child eye health in underserved district schools within Karachi.
School-based screening found refractive vision impairment in nearly 1 in 5 children
Optometrist-led vision screening: Enhancing child eye health in underserved district schools within Karachi.
Vision impairment among school-aged children, from uncorrected refractive errors, represents a major public health concern.
This study evaluates an optometrist-led, school-based vision screening intervention designed to enhance early detection, awareness, and correction of refractive errors among children in a group of underserved schools in Karachi.
A quasi-experimental study was conducted in Azam Basti, Karachi, targeting five low resource schools.
screening found nearly 1 in 5 children had blurry vision needing glasses
Astigmatism (9.3%) and myopia (6.3%) were the most common refractive errors.
Among primary students (grades 1-5), knowledge and eye health practices improved significantly post intervention (e.g., eye health knowledge: 31.3%-89.8%, p < 0.001).
Among secondary students (grades 6-10) similar gains were noted (e.g., basic eye knowledge increased from 27.2% to 84.4% ( p < 0.001), and correct eye care habits improved from 46.2% to 99.4% ( p < 0.001)).
Optometrist-led school screenings, including interactive student education combined with standardized lady health worker training to assist with initial screening, effectively enhanced detection and correction of refractive errors while promoting sustainable eye health practices.
These findings support the integration of similar programs into school health policies to reduce avoidable childhood visual impairment in underserved urban community schools.