Abstract
Background: Clinical evaluation can help to quantify the extent of vision loss, but relating vision loss to the impact on one’s functional ability and quality of life is useful just as our study will show.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was used that involved the use of Data form, for each of the 2 secondary schools and the administration of 360 self administered structured questionnaires to pupils in these secondary schools. A simple random sampling was employed in choosing the students that were studied.
Results: Of the 350 students studied, 27.09% of students with reduced visual acuity had a bad student participation or quality of life, while 72.9% had fair and above students’ participation. Visual acuity had a significant impact on the students quality of life (Reading: X2 cal < X2 tab). No significant association between visual acuity and participation in sports. Also, no significant association was found between visual acuity and participation in other recreational activities (X2 calculated = 1.82, X2 tabulated =m 3.84, degree of freedom = 1,ۻ-value =0.05, therefore X2 tabulated >X2 calculated).
Conclusion: School screening programmes should be established for prompt referral to specialists, further evaluation, immediate treatment and follow up of refractive errors involving both preschool and school children to avert reading disability and its sequellae as shown in this study series.
