Refractive error common among school children, AIIMS to screen one lakh kids

Highlighting that refractive error is the commonest cause of ocular morbidity and visual impairment among school-going children causing hindrance in reading the blackboard, and facing challenging to concentrate on studies, Dr. RP Centre of AIIMS, Delhi has initiated to screen children hailing from vulnerable areas of the capital city where awareness about refractive errors is very low. The community ophthalmology department aims to screen one lakh school children in the city this year.

Talking about the initiative, Dr Praveen Vashist, professor and in-charge, community Ophthalmology in AIIMS, said the trends of refractive errors are rising  among the school going children.

“In a survey conducted in 2001 in Delhi’s schools, seven per cent of students were found with refractive errors. However, the number rose to 13 per cent in 2011 and now in 2024 around 20 per cent children has refractive errors. They just need a pair of spectacles for this”, he said.

As part of this initiative, 3,540 children from five schools in Delhi were already screened. Of these, 419 children were referred for refraction, and 300 children were prescribed spectacles.  In this programme SSMI NGO is aiding the program of screening the visual acuity of these children, he said.