Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ15: Visual health of students
Following is a question by the Hon Tang Ka-piu and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today
(May 11):
Question:
In recent years, with the growing popularity of electronic products such as
smart phones and tablets, students have been using those products for learning
and entertainment since a very young age. Some healthcare professionals have
pointed out that prolonged screen time will make children more vulnerable to
myopia or astigmatism, and will increase their risk of developing severe eye
diseases such as glaucoma, cataract and macular degeneration. It is learnt that
the health assessments, provided for eligible secondary and primary students by
the Student Health Service Centres under the Department of Health since 1995,
include a vision screening test. However, as the screening test is rather
simple, it is ineffective in protecting the visual health of students. In this
connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers and percentages of pre-school children, primary
one students and primary school graduates suffering from (i) myopia, (ii)
astigmatism, and (iii) both myopia and astigmatism in each of the past 10 years
(set out in a table);
(2) of the respective average degrees of myopia and astigmatism among the
primary students suffering from myopia and/or astigmatism in each of the past 10
years; among such students, the respective numbers and percentages of those with
600 degrees of myopia or above (high myopia) and those with 200 degrees of
astigmatism or above (high astigmatism); the respective numbers of students
diagnosed with various types of eye diseases induced by high myopia or high
astigmatism in each of the past 10 years;
(3) whether it will consider enhancing the vision screening tests offered by
Student Health Service Centres; if it will, of the details, and whether it will
consider including an astigmatism test; of the measures taken by the authorities
to raise students' awareness of visual health, and to provide support for those
grassroots students who suffer from high myopia, high astigmatism or various
types of eye diseases; and
(4) whether it will consider providing a comprehensive vision screening for
eligible students in Hong Kong and launching a better eye care education
programme to prevent the visual problems of students from worsening; if it will,
of the details and timetable of the relevant work; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Presidents,
The Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) under the the Family Health
Service (FHS) of the Department of Health (DH) provides Pre-School Vision
Screening for children aged four to five. The screening aims to detect as early
as possible any visual abnormality (such as amblyopia, squint, and significant
refractive errors) of children so that they can be referred to ophthalmologists
for further visual assessment and treatment with a view to protecting their
vision and visual development.
As for school-age children, the Student Health Service (SHS) of the DH provides
visual acuity test for all primary school and secondary school students during
their annual health checks. The visual acuity test is a screening test which
aims to detect as early as possible visual acuity problems of the students and
whether the problems so detected have already been appropriately corrected (for
example, wearing suitable glasses). The test is conducted for the students with
their own glasses on if they are already wearing glasses. Those who fail the
visual acuity test will be referred to optometrists of the DH's Special
Assessment Centres (SACs) by healthcare staff at Student Health Service Centres
(SHSCs) for further visual assessment. Parents of the student may also choose to
consult private optometrists for assessment and follow-up. Healthcare staff of
the SHSCs will also take the opportunity to screen other visual problems (such
as amblyopia) and make appropriate referrals accordingly. My reply to the
various parts of the question is as follows.
(1) and (2) The Pre-school Vision Screening conducted by the MCHCs is only an
initial screening test. The DH does not maintain statistics on the confirmed
cases of visual problems such as myopia, astigmatism etc. for pre-school
children.
In the past 10 school years (i.e. from school year 2005/06 to school year
2014/15), the respective numbers of primary one students, primary six students
and all primary school students that underwent visual acuity test at SHSCs, as
well as the numbers and percentages of the students who failed the test are
shown in Annex 1. Among them, the percentages of primary school students who
were wearing glasses (including glasses that correct visual problems such as
myopia, astigmatism, myopia and astigmatism etc.) during the visual acuity test
are set out in Annex 2. As the visual acuity test conducted by the SHSCs is
merely a screening test to identify students with the need to refer for further
visual assessment and follow-up, the DH does not have the information about the
number of students participating in the visual acuity test who have been found
to have myopia and astigmatism.
The numbers of primary school students attended the SACs for further visual
assessment as referred by SHSCs, as well as the relevant numbers and percentages
of students found to have myopia and astigmatism (including high myopia at or
more than -6.00D and high astigmatism at or more than -2.00D) are shown in Annex
3. The DH does not have the information about eye diseases in students which are
induced by high myopia or high astigmatism.
(3) Currently, the visual acuity test provided by the SHSCs can effectively
screen refractive error visual problems including myopia and astigmatism in
students, and appropriate referrals (including the SACs under the DH) for
further assessment and management are provided when necessary. Besides, health
advice and education to promote eye health, for example, healthy reading habits
including proper use of electronic screen products, are also provided to
individual students by healthcare professionals. They will also provide relevant
information including the importance of regular eye check-up to those with high
myopia and astigmatism.
(4) The cause of refractive error visual problems like myopia and astigmatism is
mainly hereditary, while environmental factors like improper reading habits or
use of electronic screen products may also worsen the visual problems of myopia
and astigmatism.
The DH has been promoting vision and eye health through various channels. The
FHS and the SHS have provided relevant health information on their webpages
respectively.F In view of the possible adverse health effects, including those
on eye health, brought by use of electronic screen products to children and
students, the DH released the Report of Advisory Group on Health Effects of Use
of Internet and Electronic Screen Products in 2014, and issued a series of
recommendations and health tips, which have been promulgated through various
means to promote the messages on vision and eye health. The DH will continue to
provide vision screening at the MCHCs and the SHSCs, individual health advice
and appropriate referrals, coupled with relevant health promotion activities, to
protect the vision and eye health of students. The Government will closely
monitor the visual health needs of students and take actions as appropriate.
Ends/Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:09
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LCQ15 Annex1
LCQ15 Annex2
LCQ15 Annex3