Dr. Gajaraj T Naik, Dr. Raghavendra Ramappa, Dr. Varna V Shet, Dr. Meghana Neeralgi
Methods: cross sectional study of 7671 school children of 7- 15 years age group in government schools from may 2015 to April 2016.A team of ophthalmologist and refractionist screened the students for defective vision with the help of Snellen’s chart and refractive status by streak retinoscopy. Students with refractive error were prescribed with spectacles.
Results:46.4% of the study population were boys,53.6% girls. Mean age of the study group was 12.4 years. The prevalence of uncorrected refractive error in children was 3.74%. The prevalence of Myopia, Hypermetropia and Astigmatism in children was 74.5%, 4.18%, 24.73% respectively. 7.3% had squint.2.09% had developed amblyopia. Prevalence was more common in females and in older age group.
Conclusion: Causes of higher prevalence and barriers to refractive error correction services should be identified and addressed. Eye screening of school children is recommended to prevent amblyopia.