Psychological outcomes of eye conditions & treatment in childhood.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A retrospective study examining the social relationships of a cohort of adolescents who, as children, were screened either in pre-school or reception class and then treated for eye conditions versus a matched cohort of adolescents who passed vision screening.
IRAS ID
185331
Contact name
Carol Buckley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 13 days
Research summary
Having an eye condition impacts quality of life in adults, with a particular impact on social relationships. However, there is little examination of how eye conditions impact social relationships among adolescents, children and pre-schoolers. In this study, older adolescents (18 years +) who took part in screening for eye conditions in Preston aged 3-5 years (Buckley & Perkins, 2010) will be contacted and asked about their current social relationships, and to recollect their social relationships with peers and friends throughout childhood.
This is a retrospective study that includes the collection of quantitative data from adolescents aged 18- 21 years who were screened for visual defects in pre-school or reception class. A number of children from each of these groups were prescribed glasses and/or received occlusion treatment following referral to the Orthoptic department shortly after screening. A number of others from each group were referred with an eye condition and observed, but no glasses or treatment was required. We plan to include children from both these treatment and non-treatment groups along with a matched control group of late adolescents who, having no eye defect, passed visual screening. Each child will now be in late adolescence (18 years +) and will be asked to recall their social relationships with friends and peers during childhood and complete standardised questionnaires that ask about current social relationships. We will analyse the data using quantitative statistical techniques to examine whether there are differences between treatment and non treatment groups and the control group on the quality of recollected and current social relationships. Treatment/non treatment/control group membership will be provided after data analyses, making the researchers involved in statistical analyses blind to treatment group information. We hope our findings will help health professionals understand more about how having an eye condition impacts children's social relationships.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/YH/0529
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jan 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion