Prevalance and factors associated with uncorrected refractive errors among children of 13-17 years of age in Mayuge District, Uganda.

Abstract

Background: Uncorrected refractive errors (URE) are the leading cause of avoidable blindness among children worldwide, making the comparison of prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors among children in Uganda a topic of interest. This study aims to determine the prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors in children between 13-17 years of age. More information regarding the prevalence of URE is greatly needed in the country for sufficient planning by the Ministry of Health. Objective: To determine the prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors among children between 13-17 years of age in Mayuge district, Uganda. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was used in which Bunya Secondary school was selected using random sampling method to represent Mayuge district. A total of 158 participants aged between 13-17 years of age were be enumerated in the study. Unaided visual acuity (VA) using a Snellen chart at a distance of 6 meters, near binocular visual acuity and direct ophthalmoscopy for all participants after obtaining an informed consent was employed. The VA was repeated using a pinhole for participants with VA ≤ 6/12. A non-cycloplegic refraction was done for those whose pinhole VA improved. Near vision refraction was assessed for each participant whose near vision was less than N8. Data was collected using the patient record cards and questionnaires then stored using Microsoft Access 2016. The results were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results: The prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors in Mayuge district was 16.7%. This result is much lower than similar studies from the India subcontinent where rates varied between 30% to17.1% (Marmamula et al., 2011b, Nangia et al., 2013). Conclusion: The prevalence of uncorrected errors is 16.7% among children aged between 13-17 in Mayuge district. This is not very significant compared to previous studies done around the world. There is still room to address the prevalence of URE in the future. Recommendations: More research is needed in this country in the aspect of URE so as to echo out the urgency to combat the URE to prevent avoidable blindness and vision impairment. More resources are needed to inspire more research as well in this field.