Epidemiological Research

The Refractive Error Study in Children (RESC)

The Refractive Error Study in Children (RESC) was carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Eye Institute, USA. The study followed the design and procedures used in similar studies on refractive error in children carried out previously in China, Chile and Nepal.

The aim of RESC was to assess refractive error in children of school-going age. Data collection was completed in December 2000, and a total of 4,414 children aged between 7 and 15 years were examined in the Mahboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh.

The Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS)

APEDS was a cross-sectional population based study whose objectives were to assess the prevalence and major causes of blindness and visual impairment, risk factors for various eye diseases, barriers to the effective utilisation of eye care services, and the quality of life among the visually impaired.

The study began in October 1996 and was completed in February 2001. It was published in the Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science Journal in April 2001. A total of 10,293 persons from four representative areas of Andhra Pradesh participated in the study.