Two Strategies for Correcting Refractive Errors in School Students in Tanzania: Randomised Comparison, with Implications for Screening Programmes
AUTHOR:
S Wedner, H Masanja, R Bowman, J Todd, R Bowman and C Gilbert
SPONSOR/INSTITUTION:
British Council for the Prevention of Blindness (BCPB)
YEAR PUBLISHED:
2008
PUBLICATION:
Br J Ophthalmol.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
The purpose of this study is to compare whether free spectacles or only a prescription for spectacles influences wearing rates among Tanzanian students with un/undercorrected refractive error (RE).
The studied was carried out in 37 secondary schools in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and spectacle use after 3 months.
Distance visual acuity was measured in 6,904 year-1 students (90.2% response rate; median age 14 years; range 11–25 years) using a Snellen E-chart. 135 had RE requiring correction.
The prevalence of un/undercorrected RE was 1.8% (95% CI: 1.5 to 2.2%). At 3 months, 27/58 (47%) students in arm A were wearing spectacles or had them at school compared with 13/50 (26%) in arm B (adjusted OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 6.7). Free spectacles and myopia were independently associated with spectacle use.
The study concluded that the low prevalence of un/undercorrected RE and poor uptake of spectacles, even when provided free, raises doubts about the value of vision-screening programmes in Tanzanian secondary schools. Policy decisions on school vision screening in middle- and low-income countries should take account of the cost-effectiveness as well as competing demands for scarce resources.