• Gashaw Garedew Woldeamanuel, Mohammed Derese Biru, Teshome Gensa Geta, and Birhan Abera Areru.
• Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia.
• Afr Health Sci. 2020 Mar 1; 20 (1): 533-542.

BackgroundVisual impairment is one of the major public health problems worldwide, especially in developing countries.ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of visual impairment and its associated factors among school children in Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted in eight primary schools of Gurage Zone. A total of 1064 pupils, of whom589 boys and 475 girls were selected using multistage sampling technique. Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants were collected using structured questionnaires and visual acuity was measured using Snellen's chart. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associated factors of visual impairment.ResultsThe prevalence of visual impairment was 5.2%. Factors significantly associated with visual impairment were age group of 13-18 years (AOR = 9.44, 95% CI = 3.83 - 23.25), school grade level of 5- 8 (AOR = 2.97, 95% CI = 1.23 - 7.17), rural residents (AOR = 2.59, 95% CI = 1.22 - 5.54), family's monthly income of less than 2000 Ethiopian Birr (AOR = 2.87, 95% CI = 1.08 - 7.61) and visually impaired parents (AOR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.06 - 4.39).ConclusionThis study found that the prevalence of visual impairment was 5.2%.© 2020 Woldeamanuel GG et al.

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