Xerophthalmia Control Project

Health requires the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Healthy lifestyles can be cultivated by educating the people. This six-year project aims at:

      Providing health education to the people along with medical care to bring about a behavioral change in the community and

      Attempt to control Nutritional Blindness (‘Xerophthalmia’) in the 27 selected villages of Ratnagiri District (India)

This is a longitudinal interventional study carried out amongst children belonging to zero to ten years age group in twenty-seven villages selected by stratified random sampling technique. This project will continue over a period of six years. The initial three years is the intensive phase period and the remaining three years is the passive continuation phase period.

All the children belonging to the above age group will be examined for

      vitamin A deficiency eye signs,

      Classified according to the W.H.O. protocol,

      The affected children will be treated with vitamin A oral solution according to W.H.O. protocol,

      All the children included in the surveyed villages will continue to receive prophylaxis with oral vitamin A solution at six monthly intervals until they complete six years of age.

Parents of the affected children as well as other parents in the villages will receive health education on clinical features of ‘Xerophthalmia’, sources of vitamin A and prevention and control of vitamin A deficiency eye disorders. The main target group for health education will be women belonging to the reproductive age group (i.e. from 15 to 45 years of age).