Vision Screening and Detection of Ocular Abnormalities in School Children by Teachers in Jordan
Yazan Gammoh,1 Bruce D Moore2 1Department of Optometry Science, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan; 2Department of Pediatric Studies, New England College of Optometry, Boston, MA, USACorrespondence: Yazan Gammoh, Department of Optometry Science, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, P.O. Box 121, Amm...
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Dove Medical Press
2024-11-01
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| description | Yazan Gammoh,1 Bruce D Moore2 1Department of Optometry Science, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan; 2Department of Pediatric Studies, New England College of Optometry, Boston, MA, USACorrespondence: Yazan Gammoh, Department of Optometry Science, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, P.O. Box 121, Amman, 19328, Jordan, Email y.gammoh@ammanu.edu.joPurpose: To evaluate the accuracy of vision screening and detection of ocular abnormalities conducted by teachers in school children in Jordan compared with vision testing by optometrists and ocular disease identification by ophthalmologists.Methods: A non-random, purposive sampling strategy where 6-year-old and 15-year-old school children from three schools in Amman, Jordan were included. Twenty-two teachers were trained to conduct visual acuity screening using the 0.2 logMAR line of the distance visual acuity (DVA) chart at 10 feet and near visual acuity (NVA) chart at 16 inches, in addition to detecting ocular abnormalities. An optometrist assessed the visual acuity and conducted objective and subjective refraction, while an ophthalmologist examined the ocular health of all children.Results: A total of 542 children (51% female) were included in the study, of which 47% were 6 years old and 53% were 15 years old. Teacher screening had sensitivities of 76.92% for DVA, 68% for NVA, and 37.50% for abnormality detection. The specificities of DVA, NVA, and ocular abnormalities were 98.22%, 98.48%, and 99.24%, respectively. The positive predictive value for DVA, NVA, and ocular abnormalities were 83.33%, 99.00%, and 60%, respectively. The negative predictive value for each procedure was 98.22% for DVA, 98.48% for NVA, and 98.12% for ocular abnormalities.Conclusion: Teachers were able to conduct vision screening with a high level of accuracy compared to the gold standard of testing by optometrists, which would be useful for the early detection and referral of refractive errors in school children. However, they were unable to detect ocular abnormalities compared with the gold standard for disease identification by ophthalmologists. Further training and monitoring, or different training approaches should be implemented to enable teachers to identify ocular abnormalities at acceptable levels.Keywords: teachers, refractive error, school children, eye disorders, Jordan |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3b23f020c1a4426784d698bdcb15d244 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1178-2390 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
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| series | Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj-art-3b23f020c1a4426784d698bdcb15d2442025-08-20T02:26:14ZengDove Medical PressJournal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare1178-23902024-11-01Volume 175047505596989Vision Screening and Detection of Ocular Abnormalities in School Children by Teachers in JordanGammoh YMoore BDYazan Gammoh,1 Bruce D Moore2 1Department of Optometry Science, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan; 2Department of Pediatric Studies, New England College of Optometry, Boston, MA, USACorrespondence: Yazan Gammoh, Department of Optometry Science, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, P.O. Box 121, Amman, 19328, Jordan, Email y.gammoh@ammanu.edu.joPurpose: To evaluate the accuracy of vision screening and detection of ocular abnormalities conducted by teachers in school children in Jordan compared with vision testing by optometrists and ocular disease identification by ophthalmologists.Methods: A non-random, purposive sampling strategy where 6-year-old and 15-year-old school children from three schools in Amman, Jordan were included. Twenty-two teachers were trained to conduct visual acuity screening using the 0.2 logMAR line of the distance visual acuity (DVA) chart at 10 feet and near visual acuity (NVA) chart at 16 inches, in addition to detecting ocular abnormalities. An optometrist assessed the visual acuity and conducted objective and subjective refraction, while an ophthalmologist examined the ocular health of all children.Results: A total of 542 children (51% female) were included in the study, of which 47% were 6 years old and 53% were 15 years old. Teacher screening had sensitivities of 76.92% for DVA, 68% for NVA, and 37.50% for abnormality detection. The specificities of DVA, NVA, and ocular abnormalities were 98.22%, 98.48%, and 99.24%, respectively. The positive predictive value for DVA, NVA, and ocular abnormalities were 83.33%, 99.00%, and 60%, respectively. The negative predictive value for each procedure was 98.22% for DVA, 98.48% for NVA, and 98.12% for ocular abnormalities.Conclusion: Teachers were able to conduct vision screening with a high level of accuracy compared to the gold standard of testing by optometrists, which would be useful for the early detection and referral of refractive errors in school children. However, they were unable to detect ocular abnormalities compared with the gold standard for disease identification by ophthalmologists. Further training and monitoring, or different training approaches should be implemented to enable teachers to identify ocular abnormalities at acceptable levels.Keywords: teachers, refractive error, school children, eye disorders, Jordanhttps://www.dovepress.com/vision-screening-and-detection-of-ocular-abnormalities-in-school-child-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JMDHteachersrefractive errorschoolchildreneye disordersjordan |
| spellingShingle | Gammoh Y Moore BD Vision Screening and Detection of Ocular Abnormalities in School Children by Teachers in Jordan Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare teachers refractive error schoolchildren eye disorders jordan |
| title | Vision Screening and Detection of Ocular Abnormalities in School Children by Teachers in Jordan |
| title_full | Vision Screening and Detection of Ocular Abnormalities in School Children by Teachers in Jordan |
| title_fullStr | Vision Screening and Detection of Ocular Abnormalities in School Children by Teachers in Jordan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vision Screening and Detection of Ocular Abnormalities in School Children by Teachers in Jordan |
| title_short | Vision Screening and Detection of Ocular Abnormalities in School Children by Teachers in Jordan |
| title_sort | vision screening and detection of ocular abnormalities in school children by teachers in jordan |
| topic | teachers refractive error schoolchildren eye disorders jordan |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/vision-screening-and-detection-of-ocular-abnormalities-in-school-child-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JMDH |
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