Comm Eye Health Vol. 30 No. 98 2017 pp 44. Published online 07 September 2017.
Key community eye health messages
Related content
A comprehensive school eye health programme:
- Should be integrated into a broader school health programme
- Requires a goal that will result in positive change
- Must have the engagement of the ministries of health and education
- Needs ’SMART’ objectives for each component of the programme
A key issue in a school eye health programme is that children may not wear their spectacles.
- Parents should understand why a child needs spectacles
- The child’s vision must improve with correction
- The child must feel comfortable wearing spectacles and like the frames
- The spectacles should be affordable
- Teachers should encourage children to wear their glasses
A school eye health programme requires careful planning, with a goal and specific objectives which address:
- School children with refractive errors and other eye conditions
- Teachers who may themselves have refractive errors or other eye conditions
- Broader eye health education: children can act as ‘agents of change’ in their families and communities