Overview
Background: Visual impairment is decreased visual acuity to a certain level that decreases the ability to fixate at a target. In children, it is very important for them to have good visual acuity for normal physical and mental development. Therefore it’s necessary that epidemiological studies are conducted in the schools in Mogadishu to detect the severity of eye problems in school-aged children for improved school eye health services.
Objective: To assess the prevalence, pattern, and causes of visual impairment among Secondary School students in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Study design: A school-based, cross-sectional study.
Results: A total of 323 students were screened, with 95% of total responders. Males were 57%, and Females were 43%. The age of the participants ranged between 11 to 20 years old with a mean age of 16. The prevalence of visual impairment was 2.2%, all visually impaired students were females. Uncorrected refractive error was the major cause of visual impairment in 17/18 (94.4%) eyes and 1(5.6%) eye had trauma. Myopia was the most common cause of visual impairment in 15/18 (83.3%) eyes, followed by hypermetropia in 2 (11.1%) eyes.
Conclusion: The majority of the students had good distance visual acuity in the better eye. All visually impaired students were among females, and following refraction and based on the best corrected visual acuity in the better eye, the prevalence of visual impairment reduced to 0%.
Principal Investigator
Abstract
Background: Visual impairment is decreased visual acuity to a certain level that decreases the ability to fixate at a target. In children, it is very important for them to have good visual acuity for normal physical and mental development. Therefore it’s necessary that epidemiological studies are conducted in the schools in Mogadishu to detect the severity of eye problems in school-aged children for improved school eye health services.
Objective: To assess the prevalence, pattern, and causes of visual impairment among Secondary School students in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Study design: A school-based, cross-sectional study.
Results: A total of 323 students were screened, with 95% of total responders. Males were 57%, and Females were 43%. The age of the participants ranged between 11 to 20 years old with a mean age of 16. The prevalence of visual impairment was 2.2%, all visually impaired students were females. Uncorrected refractive error was the major cause of visual impairment in 17/18 (94.4%) eyes and 1(5.6%) eye had trauma. Myopia was the most common cause of visual impairment in 15/18 (83.3%) eyes, followed by hypermetropia in 2 (11.1%) eyes.
Conclusion: The majority of the students had good distance visual acuity in the better eye. All visually impaired students were among females, and following refraction and based on the best corrected visual acuity in the better eye, the prevalence of visual impairment reduced to 0%.
