Targeted Poverty Alleviation through Education: A Study of Myopia Among Rural Students in China and Prevention and Control Policy Recommendations

doi:10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.03.011

Abstract

Abstract: Providing vision care to students in rural areas may serve the purpose of poverty alleviation by improving education and health. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of myopia studies among rural students in China and offer policy recommendations for the national myopia prevention and control plan under “Targeted poverty alleviation through education”. The results show that in rural China, 25% of primary school students and 50% of lower secondary school students are myopic. Moreover, more than 70% of rural myopic students suffer from uncorrected vision, which negatively affects student academic performance and mental health. Correcting myopia also has a significant positive impact on student academic achievement. Studies show that vision screening is an effective way to identify myopia among rural students. Providing subsidies for the families of myopic students to obtain eyeglasses, and providing incentives to teachers, can significantly improve the uptake and usage rates of eyeglasses. A county hospital-based vision center may be an effective platform for reducing children's visual impairment in rural China.

Key words: targeted poverty alleviation through education, rural students, myopia, review analysis

Zhao Jin, Wang Huan, Guan Hongyu, Shi Yaojiang, Robin Li, Scott Rozelle. Targeted Poverty Alleviation through Education: A Study of Myopia Among Rural Students in China and Prevention and Control Policy Recommendations[J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Educational Sciences), 2020, 38(3): 117-125.

References

白云丽, 易红梅, 张林秀, 罗仁福, 刘承芳. (2015). 农村基层医疗卫生机构视力检查服务提供与利用. 中国卫生政策研究,8(04),75-80
关宏宇, 黄珏瑢, 杜康. (2018). 西部农村小学生不同年份视力不良比较分析. 中国公共卫生,34(08),1096-1101
华文娟, 伍晓艳, 许韶君, 万宇辉, 金菊香, 高国朋, 方云, 裴晨璐, 陶芳标. (2013). 我国中部6省城市中小学生疑似近视患病率与纬度分布. 中国学校卫生,34(11),1299-1301
宋乃庆, 杨欣. (2014). 中小学生课业负担过重的定量分析. 教育研究,35(03),25-30
姚慧娟, 马良取, 张隽华, 刘岳川. (2013). 中小学生近视弱视调查分析与治疗. 基层医学论坛,17(08),959-961
国家卫生计生委办公厅妇幼健康司. (2016−10−15). 关于加强儿童青少年近视防控工作的指导意见. 2016−10. 取自: http://www.nhc.gov.cn/fys/s3585/201610/a34775e90bbe4c07856a866ae16c6f3a.shtml.
中华人民共和国教育部. (2018−08−30). 综合防控儿童青少年近视实施方案. 2018−08. 取自: http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A17/moe_943/s3285/201808/t20180830_346672.html.
中华人民共和国国家卫生健康委员会. (2019−07−15). 健康中国行动(2019-2030). 2019−07. 取自: http://www.nhc.gov.cn/wsxf/zcfg/201907/2a771d89e00e4b228028335d4fcf1a7d.shtml.
国家卫生健康委办公厅. (2019−10−15). 儿童青少年近视防控适宜技术指南. 2019−10. 取自: http://www.nhc.gov.cn/jkj/s5898bm/201910/c475e0bd2de444379402f157523f03fe.shtml.
朱剑锋, 何鲜桂, 赵爱凤, 周克, 赵莉, 洪春荣. (2010). 上海市长宁区中小学生近视影响因素分析. 中国公共卫生,26(10),1233-1234
朱健华. (2012). 扬州市广陵区小学生营养状况及其与视力不良的关系. 中国学校卫生,33(07),881-882
Bai, Y.L., Yi, H., Zhang, L. X., Shi, Y., Ma, X. C., & Congdon, N., et al (2014). An investigation of vision problems and the vision care system in rural china (vol 45, pg 1464, 2014). Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine & Public Health, 45(6), 1464-1473
Chadha, R. K., & Subramanian, A (2011). The effect of visual impairment on quality of life of children aged 3-16 years. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 95(5), 642-645
Congdon, N., Wang, Y., Song, Y., Choi, K., Zhang, M., & Zhou, Z., et al (2008). Visual Disability, Visual Function, and Myopia among Rural Chinese Secondary School Children: The Xichang Pediatric Refractive Error Study (X-PRES)—Report 1. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, 49(7), 2888-2893
Glewwe, P., Park, A., & Zhao, M (2016). A better vision for development: Eyeglasses and academic performance in rural primary schools in China. Journal of Development Economics, 122, 170-182
He, M., Huang, W., Zheng, Y., Huang, L., & Ellwein, L. B (2007). Refractive error and visual impairment in school children in rural southern China. Ophthalmology, 114(2), 374-382
He, Mingguang, Zeng, J., Liu, Y., Xu, J., Pokharel, G. P., & Ellwein, L. B (2004). Refractive Error and Visual Impairment in Urban Children in Southern China. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, 45(3), 793-799
He, Mingguang, Zheng, Y., & Xiang, F (2009). Prevalence of Myopia in Urban and Rural Children in Mainland China. Optometry and Vision Science: offical publication of the Amercian Academy of Optometry, 86(1), 40-44
Li, L., Lam, J., Lu, Y., Ye, Y., Lam, D. S. C., & Gao, Y., et al (2010). Attitudes of Students, Parents, and Teachers Toward Glasses Use in Rural China. Archives of Ophthalmology, 128(6), 759-765
Li, L., Song, Y., Liu, X., Lu, B., Choi, K., Lam, D. S. C., et al (2008). Spectacle Acceptance among Secondary School Students in Rural China: The Xichang Pediatric Refractive Error Study (X-PRES)—Report 5. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, 49(7), 2895-2902
Luo, R., Shi, Y., Zhang, L., Liu, C., Rozelle, S., Sharbono, B., et al (2012). Nutrition and Educational Performance in Rural China’s Elementary Schools: Results of a Randomized Control Trial in Shaanxi Province. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 60(4), 735-772
Ma, X. C., Zhou, Z.Q., Yi, H.M., Pang, X. Shi, Y. J., & Chen, Q. Y., et al (2014). Effect of providing free glasses on children’s educational outcomes in China: cluster randomized controlled trial. BMJ, 349(7), g5740-5752
Ma, X., Congdon, N., Yi, H., Zhou, Z., Pang, X., & Meltzer, M. E., et al (2015). Safety of Spectacles for Children’s Vision: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 160(5), 897-904
Ma, Y., Congdon, N., Shi, Y., Hogg, R., Medina, A., & Boswell, M., et al (2018). Effect of a Local Vision Care Center on Eyeglasses Use and School Performance in Rural China: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Ophthalmology, 136(7), 731-739
Ma, Y., Gao, Y., Wang, Y., Li, H., Ma, L., Jing, J., … Congdon, N (2018). Impact of a Local Vision Care Center on Glasses Ownership and Wearing Behavior in Northwestern Rural China: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(12), 2783-2795
Morgan, I., & Rose, K (2005). How genetic is school myopia?. Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, 24(1), 1-38
Nie, J., Pang, X., Sylvia, S., Wang, L., & Rozelle, S. (2018). Seeing is Believing: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Eyeglasses on Academic Performance, Aspirations and Dropout among Junior High School Students in Rural China. Economic Development and Cultural Change. Retrieved from https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/700631.
Sylvia, S., Ma, X., Shi, Y., Rozelle, S., & Lawell, C. Y. C. L.. (2018). Ordeal mechanisms, information, and the cost-effectiveness of subsidies: evidence from subsidized eyeglasses in rural china. arXiv.org. Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.00383.
Sharma, A., Li, L., Song, Y., Choi, K., & Congdon, N (2008). Strategies to Improve the Accuracy of Vision Measurement by Teachers in Rural Chinese Secondary Schoolchildren: Xichang Pediatric Refractive Error Study (X-PRES) Report No. 6. Archives of Ophthalmology, 126(10), 1434-1440
Listed, N.A (2006). Sight test and glasses could dramatically improve the lives of 150 million people with poor vision. Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, 60(11), 485-486
Yi, H., Zhang, H., Ma, X., Zhang, L., Wang, X., & Jin, L., et al (2015). Impact of Free Glasses and a Teacher Incentive on Children’s Use of Eyeglasses: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 160(5), 889-896
Yi, H., Zhang, L., Ma, X., Congdon, N., Shi, Y., & Pang, X., et al (2015). Poor vision among China’s rural primary school students: Prevalence, correlates and consequences. China Economic Review, 33, 247-262
Zhou, Z., Zeng, J., Ma, X., Pang, X., Yi, H., & Chen, Q., et al (2014). Accuracy of Rural Refractionists in Western China. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, 55(1), 154-161

[1]	Tong Xiao. The Elites with Poor and Humble Families：Cultural Reproduction and Resistance in Elite Universities [J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Educational Sciences), 2022, 40(3): 57-74.
[2]	Program China Development Research Foundation “One Village One Preschool”. Targeted Poverty Alleviation in Education: Effect Evaluation of the 10th Anniversary of Ledu “One Village One Preschool” Program [J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Educational Sciences), 2021, 39(7): 107-126.
[3]	Chen Zhao, Si Chen, Yan Cao, Snow Catherine, Mai Lu. Targeted Poverty Alleviation through Education: Long-term Effect of China’s “One Village One Preschool” Project on Rural Children’s Academic Achievements [J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Educational Sciences), 2020, 38(2): 114-125.
[4]	WU Qiuxiang, CUI Sheng. Road to “Counterattacks” of Rural Students at Universities: An Empirical Study Based on Beijing College Students Panel Survey [J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Educationa, 2019, 37(1): 124-136+170.