Visual Impairments and Eye Morbidities Among School-Age Children (5 to 18 Years Old) Qualitative Assessment in Dubai, UAE, 2016

Background: Refractive errors are common in children and are the commonest cause of visual impairment around the world and the second leading cause of treatable blindness. As children progress in school, they face increasing demands on their visual abilities. Vision problems are common among school-age kids. According to Prevent Blindness America, one in four school-age children have vision problems that, if left untreated, can affect learning ability, personality and adjustment in school. Therefore, it is crucial to protect school aged children 5-18 sight. Objective: To assess the extent of visual impairment and ocular morbidity and to identify influencing factors and key challenges for eye vision among school-aged children 5a？？18 years in Dubai. It is of particular importance to understand their needs and assess any gaps in eye care or services. Methodology: Data sources are qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative source was from an ina？？depth interview with school health doctors, focusing on different eye health topics, and on how eye health problems vary within different age groups, nationalities, gender and other confounders. Quantitative data were derived from the official school health annual reports in concerns with studenta？？s eye morbidities. Results: Vision problems are common among school-age kids. School health officials said that in one of population-based crosssectional survey which was undertaken among 266343 students in Dubai, it was shown that there were 1008 cases of visual disorders in 2015-2016 academic years (3.8 per one thousand), whom they were diagnosed by ophthalmologists and enrolled in management program. Refractive errors are the most common cause of vision problems among school-age children in Dubai private schools. The main types of refractive errors are myopia (near sightedness), hyperopia (far sightedness), presbyopia (loss of near vision with age), and astigmatism. There are many environmental and genetics factors play a role in the development of vision disorders in children such as: family history, and premature birth. A number of neurodevelopment disorders (e.g., cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, hearing impairment and speech delay) also are associated with higher rates of vision problems. The most significant preventable risk factor for visual disorders in children is maternal smoking. Children of women who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy have higher rates of strabismus, hyperopic, and astigmatism. Conclusion: The study concluded that visual impairments among school age children is not