Children’s Vision
Improving access to eye health care in AotearoaAbout children's vision screening in Aotearoa
New Zealand children are offered publicly funded vision screening services when they begin school (via the nationwide B4 School Check service) and again in Year 7 (ages 11-12, as part of the Well Child Tamariki Ora Programme). While these screening services are good at identifying children with certain types of eye problems, we know that many children pass these screening tests and go attend school with undiagnosed vision problems. Some children also do not receive vision screening.
We are addressing this problem within our teaching and research, by providing additional screening services to schools, and conducting research to identify how the current school screening services could be improved
Our school screening services
The School of Optometry and Vision Science provides an ongoing vision screening service for primary school children at participating schools in the Auckland region. The service provides a valuable training opportunity for Bachelor of Optometry students, who visit schools and conduct vision screening assessments on children aged 5-19.
Approximately 4,000 children are screened via this service every year. One of the most common vision problems detected is refractive error, which can be corrected with spectacles or contact lenses.
The School of Optometry and Vision Science’s school screening service operates alongside the Vision Bus Aotearoa and the Community Spectacles Scheme, so that children who are identified with a vision problem can receive the follow-up eye care that they need, through donation.
Our research
How can school vision screening services be improved?
We want to know whether the B4 School Check vision screening service is equitable, and whether vision different screening tests could better detect those children with vision problems.
We also want to know whether Year 7 is the best time to complete another vision screening, and what the most effective tests are at this age.
How many children in Aotearoa need eye care services?
We know that some children are not receiving the eye care that they need. However, New Zealand does not have enough information about the number of children who need eye care, what types of problems they have, and where they live within Aotearoa.
We are currently conducting New Zealand’s first paediatric eye health survey. The survey will estimate the number of children aged 7 years who have refractive error or other vision problems. To do this, we are travelling around New Zealand to ~100 schools in Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki, and West Coast, conducting eye examinations with as many children as possible. We hope this information will allow us to identify where eye care services are needed the most.
Vision screening in New Zealand pre-school children: is it equitable?
Key messages: The B4 School Check (B4SC) vision screening service is successfully delivered to most New Zealand preschool children. However, for some groups of children, the B4SC is less accessible and more likely to deliver an incomplete test measurement. This...
Research team
Joanna Black
Deputy Head of School
Rebecca Findlay
Research Fellow
Collaborators
School of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of Auckland:
Amelia Hardcastle
Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland:
Dr Jason Turuwhenua
Iwi United Engaged Limited:
Misty Edmonds
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland:
Dr Carol Chelimo
Faculty of Science, The University of Auckland:
Dr Claudia Rivera-Rodriguez
Our supporters
The SOVS school screening programme and our children’s vision research has been made possible with the generous support of:
The Health Research Council of New Zealand (Emerging Research Grant: Rebecca Findlay), CureKids, Vision Bus Aotearoa, Peter and Rae Fehl, Helen and Barbara Blake, and The OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation.