article · Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences
A community-based study in rural Goro district in Ethiopia examined the prevalence of refractive error and visual impairment among 570 school-age children between the ages of seven and fifteen. The sample comprised 54 percent boys and 46 percent girls. Refractive error was detected in 3.5 percent of the children, with myopia accounting for 2.6 percent and hyperopia for 0.9 percent. Notably, refractive error represented the leading cause of visual impairment, responsible for 54 percent of all cases identified. Despite this burden, none of the children evaluated were wearing corrective spectacles during the study period. Uncorrected refractive error remains unaddressed in the community, highlighting an urgent need for large-scale vision screening integrated into regular school programmes, alongside strategies to supply low-cost corrective spectacles to rural children.
Uncorrected refractive error is a major cause of visual impairment among rural children, yet simple interventions such as corrective lenses are entirely absent in these communities. Identifying the local prevalence demonstrates an unmet public health need. Addressing this gap through targeted school and community screenings can prevent avoidable visual impairment and improve the quality of life for children in underserved rural regions.
This observational research highlights a direct demand for low-cost corrective spectacles and scalable vision-screening delivery models suitable for rural communities. Public health programmes, non-governmental organisations, and optical device manufacturers could target these findings to supply affordable paediatric eyewear. However, because the study is epidemiological and does not evaluate a specific device or business model, applied product development and distribution partnerships remain at an early concept stage.
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BACKGROUND: Refractive error is one of the major causes of blindness and visual impairment in children; but community based studies are scarce especially in rural parts of Ethiopia. So, this study aims to assess the prevalence of refractive error and its magnitude as a cause of visual impairment among school-age children of rural community. METHODS: This community-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from March 1 to April 30, 2009 in rural villages of Goro district of Gurage Zone, found south west of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling method was used with simple random selection of representative villages in the district. Chi-Square and t-tests were used in the data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 570 school-age children (age 7-15) were evaluated, 54% boys and 46% girls. 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. CONCLUSIONS: 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. So, large scale community level screening for refractive error should be conducted and integrated with regular school eye screening programs. Effective strategies need to be devised to provide low cost corrective spectacles in the rural community.
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DOI: 10.4314/ejhs.v24i4.11
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