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Prevalence and Associated Child Characteristics Factors of Visual Impairments among Primary School Pupils in Bende and Umuahia North Local Government Area Nigeria
Subject area: Biological & Medical Sciences · Area of research: Public Health
Abstract
Visual impairments (VI) among school children have implications in all aspects of child?s development. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence, types and knowledge on visual impairments among primary school pupils in Bende and Umuahia North of Abia State Nigeria. The study was designed as a descriptive cross-sectional study investigating visual impairment in primary school pupils from selected schools in the study LGAs. A random sampling technique was used in selecting the schools and the pupils addition, Descriptive analysis was performed using distribution tables and charts, Chi square test was used to test to association between variables in the data. the results show that 4.3% of the pupils had visual impairments (VI), of which 64.8% were boys, but no evidence of association between VI and gender was established in this study. Refractive errors were the leading cause of VI (63%) screened of VI. Significant association was found between age and VI at 5% level (p=0.030, ?2=8.947) and the 6-10 years old were the most affected age group at 6.6%. Also, significant association was found between the primary level of the children and the occurrence of VI (?2 = 8.335; p = 0.015). In conclusion, VI is still a challenge among primary school pupils and there is need to enforce policies on constant screening for VI in primary schools to encourage early detection and treatment.
Keywords
Visual Impairments, Prevalence Child Characteristics, Pupils
References
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How to cite this paper
@article{1707719,
author = {Grace Nwosu, Evangeline Oparaocha, Winnie Dozie, Gregory Iwuoha},
title = {Prevalence and Associated Child Characteristics Factors of Visual Impairments among Primary School Pupils in Bende and Umuahia North Local Government Area Nigeria},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2025},
volume = {8},
number = {10},
pages = {277-283},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1707719.pdf},
abstract = {Visual impairments (VI) among school children have implications in all aspects of child?s development. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence, types and knowledge on visual impairments among primary school pupils in Bende and Umuahia North of Abia State Nigeria. The study was designed as a descriptive cross-sectional study investigating visual impairment in primary school pupils from selected schools in the study LGAs. A random sampling technique was used in selecting the schools and the pupils addition, Descriptive analysis was performed using distribution tables and charts, Chi square test was used to test to association between variables in the data. the results show that 4.3% of the pupils had visual impairments (VI), of which 64.8% were boys, but no evidence of association between VI and gender was established in this study. Refractive errors were the leading cause of VI (63%) screened of VI. Significant association was found between age and VI at 5% level (p=0.030, ?2=8.947) and the 6-10 years old were the most affected age group at 6.6%. Also, significant association was found between the primary level of the children and the occurrence of VI (?2 = 8.335; p = 0.015). In conclusion, VI is still a challenge among primary school pupils and there is need to enforce policies on constant screening for VI in primary schools to encourage early detection and treatment.},
keywords = {Visual Impairments, Prevalence Child Characteristics, Pupils},
month = {April},
}