title: Cross-sectional study on prevalence, causes and avoidable causes of visual impairment in Maori children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide information and comparison pertaining to visual impairment of Maori children with other children in New Zealand in particular: prevalence of blindness, causes of visual impairment, and avoidable causes of visual impairment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective data collection utilising the WHO/PBL eye examination record for children with blindness and low vision at Blind and Low Vision Education Network New Zealand (BLENNZ), Homai. Individuals not of Maori ethnicity or over the age of 16 were excluded from the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  106 blind and 64 low-vision Maori children were studied. The main cause of blindness in Maori children is cortical visual impairment. Twenty-eight percent of causes of blindness in this population are potentially avoidable with non-accidental injury as the main cause.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of blindness and low vision in children amounts to 0.05% and 0.03%, respectively. The prevalence and causes of childhood blindness are comparable to the other ethnic groups in New Zealand. The main difference lies in avoidable causes of blindness, which appeared to be much higher in the Maori population. The leading cause of avoidable blindness in Maori children is caused by non-accidental injuries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Greenlane Clinical Centre, Private Bag 92-189, Auckland 1024, New Zealand. shuand@adhb.govt.nz.
authors.forename: Cheefoong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: Shuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001766:Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D014792:Visual Acuity