Objective: To determine the reliability of village community development workers in screening for blindness in the community and to suggest an extraordinary role for these cadres.
Design: Diagnostic study.
Setting: Chivi District, Zimbabwe.
Subjects: A simple random sample of 148 out of 886 people selected from notification forms.
Main outcome measure: Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values.
Results: The screening method employed was found to have a sensitivity of 93% (95% CI), specificity of 32% (95% CI) and a predictive value for a positive result of 75%.
Conclusion: The use of village community development workers to screen for blindness in the community has proved to be a reliable alternative when there is shortage of both ophthalmic trained personnel and funds.