Exploring Pediatric Vision Care: Insights from Five Years of Referral Cases in the UCI Eye Mobile and Implications of COVID-19

Abstract

Purpose : The UCI Eye Mobile offers free vision screening and comprehensive eye examinations. This study aims to assess the utility of the UCI Eye Mobile in identifying children with severe ophthalmic conditions requiring referral. Furthermore, it aims to analyze referral rates, patient demographics, referral indications, and the impact of socioeconomic factors on ocular health, with a specific focus on the period encompassing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods : A retrospective chart review was performed on de-identified records of patients examined on the UCI Eye Mobile. Quantitative variables were compared using unpaired student t-tests, while categorical variables were assessed with Chi-squared analysis. GraphPad Prism 10.0.0 and Python were used for statistical analyses.

Results : In the academic years from 2018 to 2022, 3,619 children received comprehensive eye examinations on the UCI Eye Mobile. Among them, 76 were referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist. The majority of these children were Hispanic (72.6%, 54/74), followed by Asian (10.9%, 8/74). A significant proportion (82.9%, 63/76) attended school districts with median incomes below that of Orange County. Statistically significant differences were found in age (P = 0.001; pre-COVID: 3.98 ± 1.08 years vs. COVID: 5.75 ± 2.92 years) and gender (P = 0.023; pre-COVID female: 31/41 vs. COVID female: 15/32) between the pre-COVID and COVID years. Additionally, there were significant differences in the proportion of children with hyperopia with astigmatism between the pre-COVID and COVID years (P = 0.044; pre-COVID: 23/40 vs. COVID: 12/35). The most common indications for ophthalmologist referrals were for strabismus evaluation/treatment (28.9%, 22/76), followed by amblyopia evaluation/treatment (14.5%, 11/76).

Conclusions : The study highlights the pivotal role of the UCI Eye Mobile in identifying ocular conditions in children from lower-socio economic communities, leading to necessary referrals. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have significantly impacted the demographic and clinical characteristic of the pediatric population. This highlights the need for sustained and adaptable community health initiatives to ensure continued access to pediatric eye care services, especially in the face of public health challenges.

This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.