Determinants of health care needs in relation to vision correction among adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Uncorrected refractive error (URE) has been suggested to affect children’s development, educational performance, and socialization. Sociodemographic and environmental differences among individuals may impact their accessibility in utilizing appropriate services, impacting their vision-dependent activities. Guided by the population health framework, this retrospective study examined the prevalence and determinants of self-reported vision correction needs for a sample of adolescents (n=6363) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aged 13 to 20 years between 2007 to 2009. Findings suggest a relatively high prevalence of self-reported vision correction needs (26.8%). Factors that were significantly associated with vision correction needs included age, biological sex, location of residence (emirate), nationality, parental education and employment level, household financial status, screen time use, visiting an eye specialist in the past year, and daily functional capacity. Further research on identifying modifiable barriers to accessing vision care may help the adolescent population improve in visual tasks and overall quality of life.