The Prevalence of Visual Acuity Impairment among School Children at Arada Subcity Primary Schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Visual impairment and blindness are major public health problems in developing countries where there is no enough health-care service.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of visual impairment among school children.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted between 15 June 2015 and 30 November 2015 at Arada subcity primary schools, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Two schools were selected randomly, and 378 students were screened from grades 1 to 8 using systematic random sampling method. Snellen chart was used for visual acuity test. Students who had visual acuity of ≤6/12 were further examined by an ophthalmologist to diagnose the reason for low vision. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.

RESULTS: A total of 378 students were screened, and 192 (50.8%) were females and the remaining 186 (49.2%) were males. The prevalence of visual impairment (VA) of ≤6/12 on either eye was 5.8%, VA < 6/18 on either eye was 1.1%, and VA < 6/18 on the better eye was 0.53%. In this study, color blindness [OR: 19.65, 95% CI (6.01-64.33)] was significantly associated with visual acuity impairment.

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of visual impairment among school children in the study area was 5.8% and school screening is recommended.