Prevalence and associated factors of uncorrected refractive errors among school children in suburban areas in Bandung, Indonesia

Refractive errors lead to visual impairment if they are uncorrected. The prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors in children is considerably high, even though they can be easily corrected with spectacles. To estimate the prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors and investigate their associated factors among school children in suburban areas in Indonesia. This cross-sectional study was conducted among school children aged 11-15 years in randomly selected schools. All students in the selected schools underwent uncorrected, presenting, and best-corrected visual acuity testing. Structured interviews were administered to the parents of children with refractive errors. All associated factors were analysed by multivariate logistics regression. A total of 3035 school children, 1193 boys and 1842 girls, were examined. The prevalence of refractive errors was 15.9% (95% CI: 14.7-17.3), while that of uncorrected refractive errors was 12.1% (95% CI: 11.0-13.4). Lower father's income was associated with a higher prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors (OR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.6-2.69; p = 0.26). Worse visual performance (OR:0.38; 95% CI: 0.27-0.55; p = 0.1) and longer distance to primary healthcare services (OR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.37-0.69; P = 0.1) were associated with a lower prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors. Uncorrected refractive errors were found to be highly prevalent among school children in suburban areas in Bandung Regency. The availability of visual assessment services for children needs to be improved.