Abstract:

Introduction: Visual acuity (VA) helps to appreciate the three-dimensional details of surrounding and can be used to measure the visual functions in ocular practice, especially as a screening tool in schoolchildren. Visual impairment (VI) is the major cause of morbidity in children worldwide, which can affect the learning of children globally.

Aim: Present study was aimed to use Snellen’s VA chart as a screening tool to find out habitual VA and VI in schoolchildren of Allahabad.

Material & Methods: Snellen’s chart was used in 567 students belonged to 3 schools from rural and urban areas of Allahabad. The result was tabulated showing number of eyes from 6/60 to 6/6 in schoolchildren between 7 to 11 years of age.

Result: Majority of the schoolchildren (80.42% eyes) had normal VA (6/6), while only 1 student had VA of 6/60 in both of his eyes (0.18%). Both, the urban and rural schools showed a higher number for VA 6/9 in 167 eyes (14.73%) altogether, where 91 eyes belonged to rural school and 76 eyes to urban schools. Schoolchildren from rural and urban schools showed6/12 VA in 19 and 9 eyes, respectively. No such significant difference was seen in VA of 6/18 and 6/24 for rural schoolchildren, while urban school students showed a marked distinction.

Conclusion: The investigator concluded that the identification of reduced habitual VA at an early stage will help to reduce the childhood blindness and might help to assess visual development for the children.

Keywords: Visual acuity, visual impairment, habitual visual acuity, schoolchildren, childhood blindness.

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