Prevalence of Ocular Morbidity and Associated Factors Among Hearing Impaired Children at Embangweni School of the Deaf in Mzimba District, Malawi

Abstract

Purpose To assess the prevalence of ocular morbidities and associated factors among hearing-impaired (HI) students at the Embangweni School for the Deaf in Mzimba, Malawi. Methods This was an institutional cross-sectional study of HI students at Embangweni School for the Deaf. A series of optometric and audiometric tests was performed, and the results were exported to the Statistical Package for Social Science for statistical analysis (SPSS) version 25. Pearson’s chi-square test was used to assess correlations and associations between variables. A P -value less significance was set at p < 0.05. Results A total of 147 children comprising of 76 (51.7%) males and 71 (48.3%) females participated in this study. The prevalence of ocular conditions and visual impairment was 39 (26.5%) and 2 (1.4%), respectively. The Prevalence of eye disease was significantly associated with male sex (p=0.02) and type of HI (p=0.031). Allergic conjunctivitis 36 (24.5%) was the most common ocular condition, followed by refractive error 28 (19%). Conclusion The prevalence of ocular conditions among HI students was significant and associated with sex. Regular school vision screening of students with HI is highly advised to reduce the burden of visual impairment.