Refractive error among primary school children of Mopani District, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Ocular problems affect people of different ages across the world. The purpose of the study was to investigate the extent to which refractive error affects primary school children with the aim of determining its prevalence, risk factors, and associated experiences by educators in Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo Province, in order to propose strategies that could assist in the early detection and identification of refractive error. The mixed-methods approach was utilised to provide for the quantitative and qualitative optimization of both the data collection processes and resultant outcomes. Three Mopani primary schools were chosen as research sites. A self-administered questionnaire survey was utilised to obtain quantitative data from the 327 randomly selected children (and their parents) who eventually took part in the study. Ocular examination was done to determine the refractive status of the children. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 24. The interview-based qualitative aspect sought to explore the educators’ experiences in educating school children who manifest with ocular problems. Ten participants were selected by convenience sampling for participation in the interviews. The quantitative and qualitative data sets were integrated during discussion of the study findings. The findings showed that the prevalence of refractive error was 35.8% (n=117). The most prevalent type of refractive error was found to be myopia (16.2%; n=53), followed by hyperopia (10.1%; n=33), and astigmatism (9.5%; n=31). There was strong association between refractive error and type of school, child’s position in the family and near work activities. Weak evidence showed that refractive error increased with an increase in the parental education status. Refractive error and other sight related conditions affected teaching and learning in schools and there were observed challenges in the school health vision screening program. The effect of uncorrected refractive error on teaching and learning was a major problem which poses risks on the overall quality of the children’s lives. It is recommended that strategies described by this study be implemented by the relevant departments (DoH and DoBE) and stake holders. These strategies need to be evaluated to ensure feasibility and applicability.