Prevalence of Refractive Error and Visual Impairment among Rural School-Age Children of Goro District, Gurage Zone, Ethiopia
AUTHOR:
Kedir, J. and Girma, A.
SPONSOR/INSTITUTION:
YEAR PUBLISHED:
2014
PUBLICATION:
Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of refractive error and its magnitude as a cause of visual impairment among school-age children of rural community.
This was a community-based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted with 570 participants selected through a multistage cluster sampling method.
The prevalence of refractive error was 3.5% (myopia 2.6% and hyperopia 0.9%).
Refractive error was the major cause of visual impairment accounting for 54% of all causes in the study group.
No child was found wearing corrective spectacles during the study period.
Refractive error was the commonest cause of visual impairment in children of the district, but no measures were taken to reduce the burden in the community.