Spectacle Acceptance among Secondary School Students in Rural China: The Xichang Pediatric Refractive Error Study (X-PRES)—Report 5

Abstract

Many families in rural China will pay for glasses, though spectacle acceptance was < 50%, even among children with poor vision. Acceptance could be improved by price reduction, education showing that glasses will not harm the eyes, and parent-focused interventions.

A Descriptive Study on Compliance of Spectacle , Wear in Children of Primary Schools at Qassim Province , Saudi Arabia

“…If a student had spectacles but was not wearing it, the student was considered as "non-compliant". Children not wearing glasses were asked whether they had the eyeglasses with them and to identify 1 of 10 different reasons for noncompliance, which had been identified from other researches (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) as the most common reasons for spectacle noncompliance in school children.…”

“…The dictionary (The Oxford Concise Dictionary) meaning of compliance refers to "Obedience to a request or command", in respect to our study, we used to prescribe for spectacles but it is useful only at time when child patients are wearing them. Refractive errors are commonly found as the causative agent for visual impairment in the most surveyed population and this impairment is easily treatable (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) . Previous studies shows prevalence of refractive error differs with geographic location, age, gender, education level, and amount of near work (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) .…”

“…Refractive errors are commonly found as the causative agent for visual impairment in the most surveyed population and this impairment is easily treatable (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) . Previous studies shows prevalence of refractive error differs with geographic location, age, gender, education level, and amount of near work (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) . Moderate hyperopia can be overcome by accommodation and many school aged children are most commonly found with myopic errors, these conditions have significance in economic, educational effectiveness including poor academic performance, reduced school performance, and social activity (5) .…”

“…Studies from Mexico, U.K., China, U.S.A, India, Oman, South Africa and Brazil (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) showed that compliance is only 50-60 %. This means that, the entire process of refraction and dispensing has gone waste to a large extent and the child will not benefit from the refractive correction.…”

Impact of Free Glasses and a Teacher Incentive on Children's Use of Eyeglasses: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

“…3 However, programs in China, 3 Mexico, 6 and Africa 7 have reported poor compliance with free spectacles, with rates of observed, short-term wear at unannounced visits ranging from 13% to 41%. Factors limiting wear of glasses include discomfort or inconvenience, 6,8 concerns over being teased, 6,9 parental opposition, 6,10,11 lack of perceived need, 6,[8][9][10] and fear of damage to the eyes [8][9][10][11] (though a trial 4 has now demonstrated that spectacle wear is in fact protective against age-related declines in uncorrected visual acuity among children). Previous randomized trials of specially designed educational interventions promoting spectacle wear aimed at children, teachers, and parents have demonstrated very modest 3 or no 12 impact on observed use of glasses among children at unannounced follow-up visits.…”