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. 2024 Dec 6:12:1468285.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1468285. eCollection 2024.

Availability of eye health interventions in basic schools in a Ghanaian municipality

Christopher Senyo Adzaho  1   2 , Emmanuel Appiah-Brempong  1 , Princess Ruhama Acheampong  1 , Ernest Ekutor  1
Affiliations

Availability of eye health interventions in basic schools in a Ghanaian municipality

Christopher Senyo Adzaho et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Globally, 19 to 22 million children are visually impaired. A huge number of children therefore will not be able to learn effectively even if the best educational institutions are made available to them. This ultimately leaves a potential negative effect on their quality of life, educational opportunities and livelihoods. School health programs (SHPs) present a unique opportunity to provide comprehensive eye health services to children. This study assessed the availability of School Eye Health Programs (SEHPs) in a municipality in Ghana.

Design and methods: In a cross-sectional study, semi-structured questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data from 60 head teachers, 17 school health coordinators, and 7 key health workers.

Results: No school in the municipality had a comprehensive SEHP being implemented. However, over 60% of schools had at some point introduced at least one component of SEHP, mainly Vitamin A supplementation and vision screening. Community and Public Health Nurses are the commonly used human resource for such programs. There were no available guidelines for program implementation and no systems in place for ensuring follow-up visits and provision of spectacles to those with refractive errors. Key barriers identified included the lack of financial resources and adequately trained personnel.

Conclusion: Comprehensive school eye health programs are unavailable in the study area and there is an urgent need for their implementation to avert the potential adverse effects of vision impairment on the education of children.

Keywords: child eye health; eye health education; eye health intervention; school eye health; school health; vision screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Human resources used in implementing eye health interventions in schools.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pie chart showing the sources of funds used for eye health interventions in schools.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bar graph showing the availability of guidelines on school eye health interventions as reported by school heads.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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