Compliance with spectacle wear among learners with hearing impairment in Ghana

Background: Hearing-impaired learners with refractive problems require correction because poor vision hinders their development and educational pursuits. 

Objectives: To determine the level of compliance with spectacle wear in learners with hearing impairment in Ghana. 

Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to investigate the level of compliance with spectacle wear in hearing-impaired learners with uncorrected refractive errors (URE). The participants were from six schools for the hearing impaired, comprising three schools from each sector (Northern and Southern) of Ghana. 

Results: Of the 1914 learners screened, 69 (3.61% CI: 2.82–4.54%) had URE. Sixty-two (89.9%) learners with URE had myopia (-0.50 Dioptre Sphere (DS) to -2.00DS), and 7 (10.1%) had hyperopia (+2.00DS to +10.00DS). There were more females (53.6%) with URE than males, and their ages ranged from 8 to 35 years, with a mean of 17.35 ± 5.19 years. Many (56.5%) learners complied with spectacle wear after 3 months of reassessment, with females being more compliant than males, but the difference was not significant (p = 0.544). Learners who complied well with the spectacle wear were those with moderate visual impairment (VI), followed by mild VI, while those with no VI were the least compliant. A significant difference was observed between spectacle compliance and presenting VI (p = 0.023). 

Conclusion: The spectacle wear compliance level was high compared to a previous study (33.7%) in Ghana. 

Contribution: This study highlights the importance of addressing URE among learners with hearing impairment in Ghana and Africa.