The assessment of a preschooler’s visual status is important as it forms part of the measure to assess the child’s school readiness. However, not all children attending preschools have equal opportunity to undergo vision screening programmes. In this study, we measured presenting habitual near and distance visual acuity and stereoacuity in 6-year-old children (n=385). These parameters were measured in and compared between preschoolers attending urban, privately-run kindergartens and those attending KEMAS preschools, which were typically from suburban and rural areas with families of very low income. Seven percent of KEMAS preschoolers failed the distance visual acuity test while the failure rate for private preschoolers was 6.0%. For near visual acuity, a higher percentage of private preschoolers failed the test (8.7%) than KEMAS preschoolers (4.9%). A slightly higher percentage of private preschoolers had weak stereopsis (3.3%) compared to KEMAS preschoolers (2.5%). However, the differences found between the two preschooler groups were not statistically significant (all p>0.05). The proportion of children who failed each of the screening criteria for distance vision, near vision, and stereopsis was similar between KEMAS and private preschools. Therefore, an universally inclusive vision screening programme should be conducted for all preschool types to detect, diagnose, treat, and potentially prevent any visual impairment.
Comparison of Habitual Visual Acuity and Stereoacuity between Children Attending Kemas and Urban Private Preschools
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Abstrak
Penilaian status visual kanak-kanak prasekolah adalah penting kerana ia adalah salah satu faktor yang menentukan ketersediaan mereka untuk bersekolah. Walau bagaimanapun, tidak semua kanak-kanak prasekolah mendapat peluang untuk mengikuti program saringan penglihatan. Dalam kajian ini, akuiti visual jauh dan dekat serta tahap stereoakuiti diukur di kalangan kanak-kanak berumur enam tahun (n=385). Parameter tersebut kemudiannya dibandingkan di antara kanak-kanak prasekolah swasta bandar dan prasekolah KEMAS daripada keluarga berpendapatan rendah di luar bandar. Tujuh peratus kanak-kanak prasekolah KEMAS adalah gagal dalam ujian saringan penglihatan jauh berbanding dengan 6% kanak-kanak prasekolah swasta. Untuk ujian penglihatan dekat, kadar kegagalan adalah masing-masing 8.7% dan 4.9% bagi kanak-kanak prasekolah swasta dan KEMAS masing-masing. Untuk ujian stereoakuiti, seramai 3.3% kanak-kanak prasekolah swasta dan 2.5% kanak-kanak prasekolah KEMAS dikategorikan sebagai lemah stereopsis. Semua perbezaan tersebut adalah tidak signifikan secara statistik (semua p>0.05). Peratusan kanak-kanak yang gagal ujian saringan penglihatan adalah serupa untuk kedua-dua jenis prasekolah. Oleh itu, program saringan penglihatan perlu dijalankan di semua jenis prasekolah untuk memastikan sebarang masalah penglihatan dapat dikesan, didiagnos, dirawat dan dicegah.
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