Background: Misdiagnosing and mismanaging accommodative and vergence anomalies can result in patients experiencing a poor quality of life due to poor visual status, particularly in the paediatric population. As a result, periodic binocular vision assessment is critical in the lives of children, mainly during their early growth. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the self-reported clinical competencies of optometrists in investigating and diagnosing paediatric binocular vision anomalies in the public sector and to further describe the management modalities for paediatric binocular vision anomalies adopted by optometrists in the public health sector, as well describing the availability of clinical resources for examining, diagnosing, and managing paediatric binocular vision anomalies in the public health sector. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive and quantitative research method was adopted for the current study. Using purposive sampling, 98 optometrists practicing in the selected 43 public hospitals within Limpopo Province were included as participants. Participants completed online self-administered questionnaires that included demographics, self-reported clinical competencies, management modalities, and the availability of clinical resources. Descriptive (frequency counts and percentages) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation) were used to analyse the data using SPSS version 29.0. Results: More than half (56.5%) of the participants reported having competencies in diagnosing and managing binocular vision anomalies. The most common mode of management used was spectacles (69%), and this was reported to be a successful mode of treatment by 80.8% of the participants. Drugs and contact lenses were the least preferred management methods, used by 1.4% of the participants. The lack of both appropriate equipment and requisite competencies was identified as the primary reason for nonmanagement of binocular vision anomalies by 49.8% and 41.9% of the participants, respectively. Most hospitals are equipped with ophthalmoscopes, trial frames, and distance and near charts but have a limited amount of equipment designed for diagnosing binocular vision anomalies. Conclusions: Half of the participants demonstrated their ability to diagnose and manage paediatric binocular vision disorders. Most participants reported lacking the necessary training for binocular vision management. Periodic training for practicing optometrists in the public health sector on paediatric binocular vision anomalies is essential for ensuring quality optometric services. It is imperative that the government prioritise the provision of instruments for binocular vision assessment and management in all public health facilities to facilitate efficient and effective diagnosis and management of paediatric binocular vision disorders. This practice of binocular vision assessment will enhance the quality of optometric services both in Limpopo Province and throughout South Africa.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, M.E.R.; methodology, M.E.R.; formal analysis, M.E.R.; investigation, M.E.R.; resources, M.E.R.; data curation, M.E.R.; writing—original draft preparation, M.E.R.; writing—review and editing, M.S.D. and R.J.; visualization, M.E.R.; supervision, M.S.D. and R.J.; project administration, M.E.R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no specific funding from any agency, commercial or not-for-profit e sectors.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study was approved by the Turfloop Research Ethics Committee (TREC/123/2023:PG) which is registered with the National Health Research Ethics Council, Registration number: REC-0310111-031.
Informed Consent Statement
All participants signed the informed consent before taking part in the study.
Data Availability Statement
Data presented in this study is available upon request from the corresponding author.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interests.
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