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Priorities in school eye health in low and middle-income countries a scoping review

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Abstract

School eye health (SEH) has been on the global agenda for many years, and there is mounting evidence available to support that school-based visual screenings are one of the most effective and cost-efficient interventions to reach children over five years old. A scoping review was conducted in MEDLINE, Web of Science, PubMed, and CINHAL between February and June 2023 to identify current priorities in recent literature on school eye health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Selection of relevant publications was performed with Covidence, and the main findings were classified according to the WHO Health Promoting Schools framework (HPS). A total of 95 articles were included: cross-sectional studies (n = 55), randomised controlled trials (n = 7), qualitative research (n = 7) and others. Results demonstrate that multi-level action is required to implement sustainable and integrated school eye health programmes in low and middle-income countries. The main priorities identified in this review are: standardised and rigorous protocols; cost-effective workforce; provision of suitable spectacles; compliance to spectacle wear; efficient health promotion interventions; parents and community engagement; integration of programmes in school health; inter-sectoral, government-owned programmes with long-term financing schemes. Even though many challenges remain, the continuous production of quality data such as the ones presented in this review will help governments and other stakeholders to build evidence-based, comprehensive, integrated, and context-adapted programmes and deliver quality eye care services to children all over the world.

摘要

学校眼健康 (SEH) 已列入全球议程多年, 越来越多的证据支持, 在学校中进行的的视力筛查是五岁以上儿童最有效和最具成本效益的干预措施之一。从2023年2月至6月, 我们在MEDLINE, Web of Science, PubMed和CINHAL上进行了搜素, 确定中低收入国家 (LMICs) 学校眼健康的最新文献中的推荐的优先事件。使用Covidence进行相关文献检索, 并根据世界卫生组织促进健康学校框架 (HPS) 进行分类。总共纳入95篇文章: 横断面研究 (n = 55) 、随机对照试验 (n = 7) 、定性研究 (n = 7) 和其他。研究结果表明, 需要采取多层次的行动, 在中低收入国家实施可持续和综合的学校眼健康方案。本分析中确定的主要优先事件包括: 标准化和严格的程序；性价比高的劳动力；提供合适的眼镜；配镜依从性；有效的健康促进干预；家长和社区的参与；整合学校医疗保健；由政府主导的具有长期融资计划的跨部门项目。尽管仍有许多挑战, 但持续产生高质量的数据, 如本次调查中提供的数据, 将有助于政府和其他利益攸关方建立循证、全面、综合和适应环境的方案, 并为世界各地的儿童提供高质量的眼部护理服务。

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Fig. 1: WHO’s Health-Promoting Schools framework adapted to school-eye health*.
Fig. 2: PRISMA chart.
Fig. 3: Number of selected publications sorted by HPS main themes.
Fig. 4: Priorities in school-eye health for low–middle-income countries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Alex-Anne Harvey & Benoit Tousignant

  2. International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Priya Morjaria

  3. Peek Vision, Berkhamsted, UK

    Priya Morjaria

  4. School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Benoit Tousignant

Authors
  1. Alex-Anne Harvey
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  2. Priya Morjaria
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  3. Benoit Tousignant
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AH was responsible for designing the search protocol, conducting the search, screen for eligible studies, extracted relevant results, sorted and analysed data. She wrote the first draft and created tables and figures. BT reviewed and edited the search protocol, advised when ambiguity arose during screening and reviewed and edited all drafts of the manuscript, PM PY reviewed and edited the search protocol and all drafts of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Benoit Tousignant.

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Harvey, AA., Morjaria, P. & Tousignant, B. Priorities in school eye health in low and middle-income countries a scoping review. Eye (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-024-03032-1

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