In response to media reports on the visual health of children in Hong Kong, the Department of Health (DH) today (August 21) gave the following response:
      
     "The DH has been safeguarding the physical and psychosocial health of children, including their vision, through health promotion and disease prevention services. One of the major initiatives is to provide regular free assessment services for children in Hong Kong at different stages of their development through the Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) and the Student Health Service (SHS) Centres of the DH. These services enable the early identification of children with visual acuity problems, allowing for the timely provision of advice and intervention, including referrals to appropriate institutions for further assessment or treatment.
 
Pre-school children
 
     The MCHCs of the DH offer free Pre-School Vision Screening for children aged four to five, aiming to identify those with visual problems, such as amblyopia, squint or significant refractive errors, as early as possible. When necessary, children are referred to ophthalmologists for further visual assessment and treatment to safeguard their vision and visual development. Last year (2024), more than 23 600 children, which were new cases, participated in the Pre-School Vision Screening. Among them, 15 per cent were referred to ophthalmologists for follow-up.
 
Primary school children
 
     The visual acuity tests provided by the SHS are screening tests. Students will be arranged to undergo the screening service every year regardless of whether they wear glasses. The test aims to detect as early as possible visual acuity problems of the students, and whether the problems so detected have already been appropriately corrected, including wearing suitable glasses.
      
     Those who fail the visual acuity test will be referred to optometrists of the DH's Special Assessment Service for further visual assessment. Parents of the students may also choose to consult private optometrists for assessments and follow-ups. In addition, the SHS will provide a stereoscopic vision test to Primary One students (or those at their first visit) to identify other visual problems, including amblyopia and squint, for follow-up.
      
     In the 2023/24 school year, around 257 000 primary school students (i.e. about 80 per cent of primary school students in Hong Kong) received free annual health assessment services, including visual acuity tests. Among them, 35.1 per cent of students wore glasses. Upon assessment, it was found that nearly 20 per cent (over 50 000 persons), who failed preliminary visual acuity test or had other eye or visual problems, required further assessment by optometrists in the SHS or private sector. Among these, about 33 000 primary students had never worn glasses.
      
     The DH recommends primary school children aged between six and 12 years old to limit recreational screen time to less than two hours a day. The health assessment questionnaire revealed that 43.3 per cent of primary school students indicated that they spent two or more hours in using Internet or electronic screen products (including computers, tablets, smartphones, video games and television) for recreational purposes on a typical school day. The proportion was higher than in the pre-COVID years of around 30 per cent, which is a cause for concern.
      
     Apart from reminding students of the appropriate recreational screen time, the DH has set up a webpage on Healthy Use of Internet and Electronic Screen Products to assist parents and teachers in handling related issues.
      
     The DH reminds students to adopt the following health tips to protect their vision when using electronic screen products:

• Use proper lighting and reduce glare on the device screen;
• Keep a proper distance and posture for screen viewing;
• Take rest: follow the 20-20-20 rule (take a 20-second break to view something at least 20 feet away for every 20 minutes);
• Follow the 30-40-50 principle: keep a reading distance no less than 50 centimetres for computers, 40cm for tablet personal computers and 30cm for smartphones;
• Blink frequently; and
• Conduct regular eye checks and adopt good viewing habits.

 
     Registration for the annual health assessment service of the 2025/26 school year will be available through schools in early September. The DH will continue to provide vision screening services and appropriate referrals for children in Hong Kong, and will provide related health promotion activities in order to safeguard the vision and eye health of students."

Ends/Thursday, August 21, 2025
Issued at HKT 20:50

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