Official government website of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
"Refractive" errors are one of the causes of blindness
"7,000 students to be screened for vision issues"
Media and Communication Center:
The Department of Optometry at the College of Applied Medical Sciences organized a field campaign for the early detection of vision problems among primary school students in the Qassim region under the supervision of a group of professors and doctors of the department and with the participation of a large number of college students.
The visits of the participants in the campaign included the examination of about 7,000 students in 25 primary schools for boys and girls in the Qassim region, using advanced examination equipment belonging to the college that was transported to the site of these schools, and the school principals were given a detailed list of the names of students suffering from vision issues to inform their parents to follow up their condition at an early stage at the university's optometry clinics.
These campaigns come within the framework of the efforts undertaken by Qassim University in its various colleges to serve the people of the region, as the Department of Optometry at the College of Applied Medical Sciences has been accustomed for several years to conduct such campaigns at the beginning of each semester.
For his part, Prof. Dr. Yousef bin Hamoud Al-Dabasi, Dean of the College of Applied Medical Sciences, stressed that the campaign is continuing for the seventh consecutive year and is coordinated with the Education Department in Qassim, pointing out that scientific studies have proven that refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism) constitute one of the most important causes of blindness in the world.
Al-Dabbasi said that these refractive errors and other eye diseases can be combated and eliminated or minimize their complications if they are detected early, and from this point of view, the campaign targeted primary school students to produce a new generation that does not suffer from vision issues.
