The effect of test method on visual acuity threshold in children
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effect of test method on visual acuity threshold in children
IRAS ID
270235
Contact name
Helen Griffiths
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Of Sheffield
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
The title of the research project is ‘The effect of test method on visual acuity threshold in children’. Participants will be aged 4-5 years, which is how old children are when they have a local school screening eye test. The research question is: Does presentation order of letter size have an impact on visual acuity outcome, the level of engagement on the test and/or test duration in minutes? The aim of this study is to compare two different methods of testing vision in children aged 4-5 years to see if one testing method achieves a more accurate vision outcome, or a quicker assessment which would be efficient for a screening program in terms of cost and viability. The conventional method of testing vision involves being shown letters that decrease in size until they are no longer visible. This will be compared to a reversed presentation order of letter size where letters that are initially not visible will be increased in size until they are visible. It will review the psychological effects of the different presentation orders such as no positive feedback from an initial large letter. These methods have not been compared in literature previously, but the reversed presentation order is a suggested method from Thomson school screening (1999). Participants would perform both methods of vision testing on the same eye and all participants would be counterbalanced. It will be done in a Hospital environment in Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Data collection will be over a 6 month period.
REC name
London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1631
Date of REC Opinion
26 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion