Why are there defaulters in eye health projects?
Clinics
;
66(9): 1585-1589, 2011. ilus, tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-604298
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
To identify barriers to attendance for eye examination of schoolchildren.METHODS:
Cross-sectional study. Students in grades 1-4 in elementary school in Guarulhos (Brazil) were screened and referred for ophthalmic examination in 2006. Facilities offered in this project were examination arranged during weekends, free transportation, spectacle donation and two different opportunities for exam. A questionnaire was applied, by interview, to a sample consisted of students' parents attended in a community project who missed the first call and attended the recall, to identify the reasons for non-attendance.RESULTS:
The sample consisted of 767 parents or guardians, corresponding to an equal number of schoolchildren. Personal characteristics of the students 49.2 percent male and 50.8 percent female, 60.2 percent of them had never received previous ophthalmologic evaluation. Reported reasons for no-show to the project parents had not received appropriate orientation (35.6 percent), loss of working day (20.6 percent), illness (12.4 percent), had another appointment (10.0 percent). The need for eyeglasses was higher in the recall.CONCLUSIONS:
A significant number of parents did not take their children for ophthalmological exams, even when a second opportunity was offered in projects with transportation facilities, free exams performed during weekends and spectacle donation. The main causes of absenteeism were lack of awareness and work. For 87.1 percent of the absenteeism cases, the difficulties could be overcome via improved structuring of the first call. A recall increases attendance coverage of target population by only 15.2 percent (59.3 to 74.5 percent). Notably, the eye exam campaign was the first exam for most of the absent students.
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Students
/
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
/
Vision Screening
/
Eye Diseases
/
Health Services Accessibility
/
National Health Programs
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prevalence study
/
Prognostic study
/
Risk factors
Limits:
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Journal:
Clinics
Journal subject:
Medicine
Year:
2011
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Universidade de SãoPaulo/BR
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