School Vision Screening programme in Dubai sheds new light on the state of children's eye health

The programme focuses on pupils in years 1 and 2, aged 5-7 years. The School Vision Screening programme is continuing, following the initial phases of the programme which covered four schools in Dubai.

Moorfields points out that parents of children 'failing' a test should follow up quickly by arranging a full eye examination:

"In the context of the School Vision Screening programme, 'failed' means that these students did not meet the minimum vision screening standards established by screening committees in the US and UK, which we apply at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai. In most cases the referrals for an examination are for minor refractive errors that can easily be corrected with glasses but there are other cases that need further investigation. The important point is that early detection and treatment
is vital because children generally respond very well to treatment."

says Keith Wilken, Senior Orthoptist at the hospital, who leads the school programme.

Of the 60 pupils who 'failed' the tests, 53% were girls and 47% boys. "We cannot draw any really significant conclusions from gender differences at this point but as the programme is extended and the numbers grow, we will be able to examine them and get a clearer picture," adds Keith Wilken.

For the screening programme, a team from Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai visits the school for one or two days to conduct a series of tests.

Parents are invited to allow their children to be screened, following which a written report is sent by Moorfields to the parents (and a copy retained by the school nurse for their own records). Parents pay a nominal amount for the screening.

According to ophthalmologists, around one quarter of school-age children have some form of vision problem, such as short sightedness, astigmatism, cataracts, colour blindness, lazy eye or genetic diseases.

Many of these problems begin well before school age and can go undetected, and so screening at an early age is an important part of the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment process.

Dr Chris Canning, Medical Director at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai
says: "An important part of our role is to improve eye health and the
school screening programme is a good start. Screening children is very
important and around 1 in 8 school children will have some form of
vision problem, which matches our experience in Dubai and almost all of
these problems were previously undiagnosed. Vision screening is able to
pick up many, but not all, eye problems - it is not a substitute for a
full eye examination - and it complements and extends the testing work
of the schools' own medical teams. Where problems are found, we advise
parents on the nature of the problem and will recommend a comprehensive
examination in an eye centre."

Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai started the School Vision Screening
programme shortly after establishing the new hospital in Dubai - the
first overseas branch of the world renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital in
London.

In implementing the School Vision Screening programme, specialists from
the hospital are working with schools to complement the work of the
school nurses. The hospital also hopes to run a continuing education
course focusing on vision screening techniques and eye trauma assessment
and triage designed specifically for school nurses.