[Children's visual defects screening in general practitioner's consulting room. Prospective study conducted among 200 physicians from the French département of Bouches-du-Rhône from June to November 2004]

One out of 7 children has visual defects. Visual system is incriminated in 80% of children learning. The earlier the detection of visual defects is discovered the more successful the treatment can be. Our work aimed at defining what the reality about visual defects screening was in GP's consulting rooms. We received 87 answers out of 200 questionnaires sent to GP practicing in the Bouches-du-Rhône. This survey revealed a lack of information on screening for visual disorders in children among surveyed physicians, which had a clear impact on their practice; 84 of them were not aware of the Anaes guidelines concerning screening for visual disorders in children. At the close of this project, we developed a simple document (double-sided A4 paper) summarizing the required material as well as screening procedures that can be easily performed in general practice offices. A website offering the same information was designed as well. The next step will consist in assessing among general practitioners the benefits of these documents and their impact on routine practice.