Abstract
Purpose :
This study analyses vision screening data obtained from the Glasses for Kids programme, where students from 250 of the most disadvantaged government schools in Victoria, Australia, were screened using tests for visual conditions including refractive error, binocular vision difficulty, colour vision deficiency, and strabismus.
Methods :
Between February and March 2018, students in grade prep, 1, 2, and 3 (approximately aged 5,6,7, and 8 years) from 28 schools were screened by final year Doctor of Optometry students. Tests used were monocular and binocular distance visual acuity, +2.00 DS blur test for hyperopia, Howell card for near phoria, Ishihara plates, and the Titmus Stereo Fly Test. Failure of any screening test, based on pre-determined criteria, resulted in the recommendation for a full eye test and subsequent provision of glasses if required, at no cost.
Results :
2640 students were screened, with 12.2% (n=322) declining to give consent to use their data for research purposes. Of the 2318 students that provided consent, the most commonly failed test was visual acuity (47.2%, n=1094), followed by stereopsis (19.5%, n=451), binocular vision (9.3%, n=216), colour vision (7.2%, n=166) and +2.00 DS blur test (5.3%, n=122). 39.6% (n=918) failed only one test (most commonly visual acuity), 16.5% (n=382) failed two tests (most commonly stereopsis and visual acuity) with the remaining 5.0% (n=115) failing three or more tests. Overall, 61.0% (n=1415 students) failed at least one component of the screening battery and were recommended for further review.
Conclusions :
Our referral rate is 2 to 3 times higher than several previously published screening programmes for children, which leads us to believe there is a significant number of over-referrals. This may reflect the strictness of the referral criteria used, which included referring all children who were unable to complete a test. Using different tests that young children are more likely to complete, as well as relaxing the referral criteria, might improve the performance of future iterations of the Glasses for Kids screening programme.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.