Dr.Kaushik Murali, M10521
Purpose: To assess quality of life (QOL) in children in Karnataka state,India following screening ,identification & intervention for visual disability.
Methods:Of 107154 screened in a comprehensive eye care programme,148 treated children identified through convenient sampling underwent semi-structured interview with 23-item QOL questionnaire at 6 months review.Demography, visual acuity improvement & type of intervention were correlated with QOL change.Linear Regression & Rasch Analysis Model used to analyse results.
Results:Mean age 11.45±3.9 years & 50.7% were girls.QOL score significantly improved post intervention from 69.9±11.83 to 22.31±11.17 (p<0.001). QOL improvement was see in personal, social,psychosocial & educational aspects of QOL(p<0.001 for all).QOL score improvement more with spectacle correction (R = 0.86; P<0.0001) than surgeries. Conclusion: Appropriate & regular eye screening in children with intervention improves not only vision but quality of life in children.
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