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EVENTS
Primary Eye Health Care activities through School Health:
1st primary students would continue to be the reflection of infectious eye diseases in the community. Screening, supervised therapy of active trachoma and infective conjunctivitis would continue. However, detected eye diseases would be recorded in the students health booklet instead of M-263 form.
The students with active trachoma should be given oral suspension of Azithromycin as a single dose. The dose should be calculated as 2Omg./Kg body weight. Use of 1% tetracycline eye ointment for the treatment of active trachoma in 1st Primary students should be discontinued and M-268 need not be used.
The school health staff would determine the extent of contact screening to be carried out in the villages and report the outcome on form M-267.
Students of 1st primary, 4th primary, 1st preparatory and 1st secondary should be screened for visual status. The findings should be noted in the booklet on pages 3, 7 & 10 of school health book. (Appendix: 1,2 & 3). The list of students with defective vision and eye problems should be prepared in M-252 form. The 1st & 2id copy of this form should be forwarded as early as possible to regional school refractionists for further action.
Evaluation of use of spectacles would be the integral part of school health activities. All efforts should be made to increase the compliance by concerned staff with the help of school authorities. The staff should note the report of compliance at the end of one year in the school health booklet.
Active trachoma cases in 1st primary level should be followed at the end of completion of treatment, 6 months and at the time of next year eye screening in that school. The staff should note the report of follow up trachoma status in the school health booklet.
The target of school screening, refraction and follow up activities should be 100% coverage while that of community activities should be at least 80% in each catchment area.
School Health staff should keep constant watch for the clinical manifestations of vitamin A deficiency, especially in those students who had moderate to severe grade of Protein Energy Malnourishment or recent episode of measles.
School refractionists should refract students with defective vision and maintain record in the school booklet (if they are made available during their school visit) and Form M-252. They should prescribe spectacles to the needy students. On top of the prescription they should write School Health to enable the private optician to offer glasses at subsidized rates.
The school refractionist and regional school health In-charge should prepare the school summary and submit it to the regional information officer by end of May every year. The cases of defective vision with suspected ocular pathology or myopia of more than five diopters should be referred to the ophthalmologists.
Quality assurance of school screening by regional EHC supervisors should be carried out by cross checking all the reported eye cases and 10% of the normal cases at the time of their annual school visit for refraction activities.
The regional EHC supervisor should identify the school children with Low Vision Eye Health Care activities at Secondary/Tertiary level institutions: Ophthalmologist would follow standard protocol for diagnosis and management of important eye diseases, which would be finalized in near future. They should aim to increase awareness of the eye patients about blinding eye diseases and promote surgical management of cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and trichiasis. Health education sessions by using booklets on different eye diseases should be conducted with the help of health educators.
Ophthalmologists should strengthen quality control by assessing the of quantitative and qualitative outcome of cataract cases operated in their unit. Prompt action should be taken to improve the results. The ophthalmologists should follow the protocol for referring the cases to tertiary units. The institution, which referred the case to ophthalmologist must be provided ow feedback to improve the follow up care of the patient and to build the capacity of health care provider at primary level. F
The ophthalmologists should review available resources and give suggestions for increasing the surgical output of ophthalmic unit to the hospital and regional administrators periodically. Reporting of the morbidity and management details to the health information department should be timely and accurate. The ophthalmologists should actively participate in the activities related to capacity building and continuous medical education.
The ophthalmologists should participate in community mobilization and operational researches related to the eye diseases. establishments for ensuring t high quality of optical services in these units. Ministry of Health encourages private optical units to provide spectacles to t[ school students at subsidized rates. Ministry of Health encourages private sector to establish manufacturing unit visual aids and their accessories in the Sultanate.