ArticleJournal of ophthalmology2026
Prevalence of Refractive Error Among School Children in Malawi.
Article in Journal of ophthalmology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Visual Difficulties and Uptake of Optical Correction Among Malawians: Insights from the 2024 Demographic and Health Survey.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Prevalence of Refractive Error Among School Children in Malawi.Journal of ophthalmology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Uncorrected refractive errors are a significant public health concern. Refractive error remains a common cause of vision impairment. Children are vulnerable to uncorrected refractive errors, which can impact their development, education, and social welfare. Hence, it is essential to understand the extent of uncorrected refractive error in different populations to facilitate healthcare planning and the implementation of necessary interventions. Aim: The study aimed to determine the prevalence of refractive error among school-going children in five primary schools in Mzuzu City. Method: This was a cross-sectional school-based study conducted among school-going children in Mzuzu City. A multistage sampling technique was used to recruit 1173 participants. Participants who met the study's inclusion criteria were refracted under cycloplegia. The following was defined as ≥ 0.5 diopters, while hyperopia was ≥ +1.00 diopters. On the other hand, astigmatism was regarded as 0.50 Dcyl. The data were entered into excel then into SPSS Version 26. Binary logistic regression was used to determine associations. Results: Among the study population, males and females contributed 586 (49.96%) and 587 (50.04%), respectively. The prevalence of refractive error was 649 (55.3%, CI = 0.5252.0.5828), with a higher incidence in males than that in females. Hyperopia was the most prevalent type of refractive error, occurring in 610 (52.0%) of the study participants. Accordingly, adolescents had 1.445 higher odds of having refractive errors compared with younger children (95% CI = 1.141.1.829, Conclusion: The high population of students who have refractive errors, without having undergone any form of screening, points to a need for greater efforts at establishing a sustainable school eye health program within the region. Therefore, this study recommends establishing a school eye health program to ensure that every child has the opportunity for visual screening. Furthermore, there is a need to abridge the cost of spectacles through ensuring the provision of readymade spectacles to indigent pupils whose parents may not afford regular spectacles.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.