EVALUATION AND OUTCOME OF THE VISION SCREENING-PROGRAM IN SOUTH AUCKLAND INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS

Four thousand, seven hundred and fifty-nine form 1 intermediate school children (aged 11 years) in the south Auckland health district were screened in 1987. There were 88 (1.8%) new visual defects detected (defined as a visual acuity (VA) of 6/12 or worse in one or both eyes), while 103 (2.2%) wore glasses and a further 22 (0.5%) did not have their glasses available at the time of the VA test. The total prevalence of screening visual defects was 4.5%. A survey was carried out of those pupils who failed the VA screening test in the previous year and those recorded as wearing glasses. Sixty-seven (76%) of 88 children with newly detected visual defects were interviewed. An abnormal VA test was confirmed in 59 (88%), of which 39 (66%) required treatment. Thirty were prescribed glasses, of which 27 purchased them, but at the time of interview nine did not have them available. Twenty-one (20%) of the 103 children tested with glasses failed the VA test. Twenty-two children had glasses but were not wearing them at the time of the VA test. Only three of these children had a VA better than 6/12 bilaterally. These results highlight the importance of the vision screening programme in this age group and the follow up of children with known visual defects.