Spectacle compliance amongst school children of Rohtak, Haryana, India

Abstract

Background: Refractive errors are the commonest cause of visual impairment in school children worldwide. They can be easily corrected by a pair of spectacles, only when they are used regularly. The purpose of present study is to document the actual rate of spectacle wear at the time of examination, assess principle determinants of spectacle wear and reasons for non-compliance among different demographic groups.Methods: 200 school children in the age group of 6-15 years with refractive errors were selected. The schools were visited without prior intimation to the students 3 months after the initial examination. Reasons for spectacle wear non-compliance were enquired.Results: 78 (39.0%) children out of 200 were compliant to spectacle wear, while 122 (61.0%) were non-compliant to spectacle wear. Main reason for not wearing spectacles was ‘teased about the appearance with spectacles’.Conclusions: School teachers should explain the risk of non-wearing of spectacles and benefits of spectacle wearing to both children and their parents. Most of the children were not compliant because they were teased about, did not like, or were not comfortable in their spectacles- all societal issues that could and should be addressed.