Visual impairment and associated factors among primary school children in Gurage Zone,Southern Ethiopia |
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Authors: | Gashaw Garedew Woldeamanuel Mohammed Derese Biru Teshome Gensa Geta Birhan Abera Areru |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia;2. Department of Statistics, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia |
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Abstract: | BackgroundVisual impairment is one of the major public health problems worldwide, especially in developing countries.ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of visual impairment and its associated factors among school children in Gurage Zone, Southern EthiopiaMethodsA cross sectional study was conducted in eight primary schools of Gurage Zone. A total of 1064 pupils, of whom589 boys and 475 girls were selected using multistage sampling technique. Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants were collected using structured questionnaires and visual acuity was measured using Snellen''s chart. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associated factors of visual impairment.ResultsThe prevalence of visual impairment was 5.2%. Factors significantly associated with visual impairment were age group of 13–18 years (AOR = 9.44, 95% CI = 3.83 – 23.25), school grade level of 5- 8 (AOR = 2.97, 95% CI = 1.23 – 7.17), rural residents (AOR = 2.59, 95% CI = 1.22 – 5.54), family''s monthly income of less than 2000 Ethiopian Birr (AOR = 2.87, 95% CI = 1.08 – 7.61) and visually impaired parents (AOR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.06 – 4.39).ConclusionThis study found that the prevalence of visual impairment was 5.2%. |
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Keywords: | Visual impairment primary school children Gurage Zone Southern Ethiopia |
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