Profile of School Going Children with Visual Impairment.

ABSTRACT

Eye is the most vital organ of human body; apart from serving the function of vision, it enables us to do our tasks with coordination. Any abnormality in the eye can impair vision and make the person handicapped for life. WHO estimates that 153 million people worldwide live with visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive errors, 8 million are blind and 12.8 million are in age group of 5-15 years1. In India prevalence of defective vision in age group of 6-15 years is around 13 %2,3. The school children form a special group because they are most vulnerable to the effects of reduced vision and its impact on learning capability and educational potential. In addition, the management of refractive errors is perhaps the simplest and the most effective eye care that can be provided by involving the community4. The school children are more prone to develop decreased visual acuity owing to increased near work due to stressful academic schedule, nutritional deficiencies and excessive viewing of television, playing videogames. Poor vision in childhood affects academic performance in school and has a negative influence on future of child. Considering these issues the present study was carried out to find out the factors affecting vision of school children and to suggest preventive and remedial measures for defective vision.