Out-of-School Vision Screening in North India: Estimating the Magnitude of Need

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Few studies have examined the extent to which school-based vision screening is sufficient to achieve universal coverage among school-aged children in India.

Method: A rural administrative region (‘Block’) was examined. Government records provided the total population of the rural Block, the proportion of school-aged children, and school authorities in the Block provided the number of enrolled students. Absenteeism was measured directly by visiting a representative sample of the schools. The proportion of the school age population found in school was assessed using the indicator, Effective Coverage (EC): the proportion of children attending school divided by the total population of school-aged children in the region.

Results: In the rural block, the proportion of children actually enrolled in school was 52% of the school-aged population, with 68% of them attending school. Therefore, EC was 35% (68% of the 52% enrolled).

Conclusion: Population coverage by school vision screening would be unacceptably low in a rural setting in northern India. Out-of-school vision screening programs are needed in these rural settings to achieve universal coverage.

KEYWORDS:

• Out-of-school
• vision screening
• school children
• absenteeism
• effective coverage
• enrolment

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the SEVA Foundation for their support of children’s vision screening programmes, through which this study could be attempted.

Disclosure statement

None of the authors have any proprietary interests or conflicts of interest related to this submission.

Prior publications

This submission has not been published anywhere previously and it is not simultaneously being considered for any other publication.