Screening for Color Vision Deficiency in Health Science Students

Authors

Deborah A. Johnson, Illinois State UniversityFollow
Jon Judge, Illinois State UniversityFollow
Beverly J. Barham, Illinois State UniversityFollow

Abstract

Purpose: Various professions require employees to be able to detect different shades of color accurately when visually reading test results with colorimetric end points. To prepare health science students to better meet this requirement, a screening test for color vision deficiency (CVD) was administered to detect any major or minor errors as part of the undergraduate student experience. Method: Screening for color vision deficiency was administered using the Farnsworth D-15 Color Vision Test. Students completed the test and their results were scored and interpreted at the time of completion. Results: Students (n=85) from nine different health science programs completed the Farnsworth D-15 Color Vision Test. Ages of the participants ranged from 18-63 years with 70% of the participants in the age range of 18-23 years. Seventy-one percent of the participants identified as female, 28% identified as males, and 1% identified as non-binary. Two students (one female and one male) had a minor error resulting in a crossover within the test circle on the Gulden test score sheet. There were no major errors identified in the 85 participants. Conclusion: While two minor errors were detected in this population, this data is not consistent with other CVD studies. This most likely is due to screening predominately female students, and/or the amount of time allotted for each individual test to be completed. Future studies will include expanding the participant numbers, with a focus on testing more male participants, limiting the number of minutes to complete the screening process, and collecting additional demographic data.

Author Bio(s)

Deborah A. Johnson, M.S., MT(ASCP), SM, is an Assistant Professor in the Medical Laboratory Science Program at Illinois State University. She has over 30 years of experience as a certified Medical Technologist with the last five years working as an educator in the program at Illinois State University.

Jon Judge, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Illinois State University. After a decade in the Environmental Health and Safety field where he served in capacities ranging from technician through senior safety manager, he changed career paths and returned to school.

Beverly J. Barham, PhD, MPH, MT(ASCP) is a Professor in the Medical Laboratory Science Program at Illinois State University. She has over forty years of experience as a certified Medical Technologist with the last twenty of those years working as an educator in the program at Illinois State University.

DOI

10.46743/1540-580X/2022.2248

Recommended Citation

Johnson DA, Judge J, Barham BJ. Screening for Color Vision Deficiency in Health Science Students. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2022 Sep 26;20(4), Article 17.