Prevalence of Refractive Errors among Primary School Children (6-15 Yrs) in Al-Khartoum- Sudan

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of refractive errors and visual impairment among primary school children in Khartoum city, Sudan. Methods: This is a cross sectional study. Children of the primary schools in Khartoum with age range of 6-15 years were included. School children were first screened at the school premises for refractive error and visual acuity. Children detected with defective vision were further evaluated employing subjective refraction with auto refractometer. Results: The study included 400 pupils. Prevalence of refractive errors was 108 (27%). Astigmatism was the commonest refractive errors encountered 56 (14%). Seven (1.75%) of the participants were visually impaired, with visual acuity less than 6/18 of the right eye. Our study showed that all types of the refractive errors were relatively more common among males than females. Majority of the participants with refractive errors were in the age group 9-11year old. Conclusions: Refractive errors are one of the most common prevalent ocular conditions among school children. Implementation of policies including periodical screening of preschool and school children for refractive errors; integration of child eye healthcare into school health programs and further studies of refractive errors among school children in different regions of Sudan are strongly recommended.