Need for optical intervention in children attending a school for the blind in Eritrea

Abstract

Purpose

To identify the need for optical intervention including spectacles and low vision devices (LVDs) in children attending the only school for the blind in Eritrea.

Methods

A total of 92 children were examined using the World Health Organization Prevention of Blindness program form for the recording of children with blindness and vision impairment. Examination included distance and near visual acuity (VA), refraction, trial of LVDs and evaluation of anterior and posterior segments. All the children who showed at least one line improvement in distance or near VA with refractive correction and/or LVDs were provided with these devices.

Results

Six children had distance VA of ≥6/18 (no vision impairment, NVI) at presentation and were excluded from analysis. For the remaining 86 children, male to female ratio was 1.2:1.0 with a mean age of 11.8 ± 2.8-years (range: 6–17-years). At presentation, 47 (54.7 per cent) children were blind (VA <3/60) and 24 (27.9 per cent) were severely visually impaired (VA <6/60–3/60), which reduced to 42 (48.9 per cent) and seven (8.1 per cent) children after refraction, respectively. A further 5.8 per cent (five children) achieved NVI with refractive correction. Using distance LVDs, 26 (30.2 per cent) and 16 (18.6 per cent) children had NVI and moderate vision impairment (VA <6/18–6/60), respectively. In terms of near vision, eight (9.3 per cent) children had near VA better than 1.00-M at presentation, which improved to 11 (12.8 per cent) with refractive correction and 19 (22.1 per cent) with near LVDs. A total of 29 spectacles and 42 LVDs were provided.

Conclusion

A significant number of children at the school for the blind benefited from refractive correction and LVDs. With such optical intervention, many of these children could study at mainstream schools with print media. A system including comprehensive vision examinations before admission to the school, refractive services and low vision rehabilitation is required to ensure that children with adequate residual vision do not have to be limited to learning in Braille media.

Key words:

• childhood vision impairment
• low vision
• low vision devices
• schools for the blind

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We express our gratitude to Mr Bharat Kumar Bhayal, Dr Arjun Shrestha and Dr Rabindra Prasad Sah from Asmara College of Health Sciences, and Mr Solomon Tezare from Abraha Bahta School for their support during this study. We are especially thankful to the optometry students and optometry technicians at the college for their assistance during data collection.