Prevalences Of Ocular Conditions In Primary School Children: An Evaluation Of Access And Outcomes Using The Students In Need Of Eyecare Program.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that school aged children, for various reasons, are not always receiving the eye care they need. This research will determine if the need is indeed there using a community service pilot program and seeks to increase awareness of the need for children to have access to complete eye examinations.
Methods: The study will use anonymous information from University Eye Center electronic medical records collected during the Students in Need of Eyecare (SINE) Program. Information will include age, prevalence of refractive error, and the need for spectacle correction secondary to hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism or medical causes. Anonymous surveys were collected from parents, teachers, and school staff involved with the SINE program. The surveys inquired about any achievement and behavior improvements resulting from the program, information about how much the prescribed glasses are worn at school, if the glasses have been lost or broken and the perceived program value, among other things.
Results: Many children can benefit from community-based programs like the SINE program. There was a significant need for full eye exams and treatment in the communities served despite active vision screening programs. 64.2% of the children examined needed glasses. In addition 22% of the students had binocular vision problems and 4.6% had accommodative problems. Tracking problems were found in 3.7% of the students and medical diagnoses were found in 4.6%. Surveys revealed that most teachers and parents thought that the treatment with glasses improved school performance, sports performance, and self-confidence. In fact, 78.6% of the teachers believed that the glasses were very beneficial to the children.
Conclusions: The popularity of the program in its second year of existence was remarkable. An abundance of medical diagnoses and need for glasses in the majority of children reveal that eye care needs are not currently being met in these rural communities. Although survey statistics demonstrated that most parents could access eye care for their children without the program, there were many comments that stated otherwise and evidence that services have not been accessed by many. In addition, there was a large discrepancy between parent responses from each school. Teacher surveys revealed that this program helped many low-income students that did not have access to eye care in their rural community. Both teachers and parents agreed that this program helped them see the value in full comprehensive eye exam versus school screenings.