Refractive error, risk of amblyopia and eye care services utilisation among Nunavik Inuit in Northern Canada

Background: Neurosensory deprivation associated with vision is a well-known fact in people with intellectual disability (ID). This work aims to report the visual status of a population with ID in Portugal. Methods: A vision screening protocol was conducted during two Special Olympics events. The vision protocol included personal medical history, ocular health evaluation, and clinical measures, such as visual acuity (VA), binocular vision, colour vision, refractive error, and intraocular pressure. This protocol was administered to 134 subjects. Results: Half of the subjects reported that they had never attended or they did not remember having attended a previous eye exam. Additionally, 10% of them had not attended an eye exam in the immediate past three years. Half the subjects failed the VA test and 13% presented moderate Visual Impairment (VI) (VA worse than 0.5 logMAR in the best eye). Manifest ocular deviation was found in 25% of the subjects and the most common ocular health dysfunction conditions were conjunctiva hyperaemia, meibomian gland dysfunction, and lens anomalies. Refractive error correction allowed a reduction in the level of moderate VI to 3.7%. Conclusions: The population analysed showed a poor eye care attendance rate and vision-related conditions are in agreement with previous reports. The development of national strategies to promote the awareness for routine eye care in people with ID and improving accessibility to eye care services may mitigate many of the most prevalent conditions encountered.

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Childhood eye care services in South Darfur State of Sudan: Learner and parent perspectives

African Vision and Eye Health ◽

10.4102/aveh.v75i1.315 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 75 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Saif H. Alrasheed ◽

Kovin S. Naidoo ◽

Peter C. Clarke-Farr

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Visual Impairment ◽

Refractive Error ◽

Treatment Modalities ◽

Eye Care ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Care Services ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Purpose: Most causes of childhood visual impairment are either treatable or preventable. Eye health education plays an important role in reducing avoidable causes of visual impairment as well as to help ensure a healthy and educated community. The main objective of this study was to assess the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of the students and their parents on childhood eye services and barriers for accessing child eye care.Methods: The study was conducted in South Darfur State of Sudan between January and February 2015. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect data from eight secondary schools. Four schools for boys and four schools for girls were randomly selected from a list of 21 districts of South Darfur State and the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices surveys were conducted with the students to collect quantitative data. In addition, seven focus group discussions were conducted with the children’s parents to collect qualitative data.Results: The majority (57.5%) of the students reported that they knew about refractive error; however, 33.07% reported never hearing about refractive error. About 70.3% of the respondents believed that uncorrected refractive error leads to visual impairment, 21% believed refractive error did not cause visual impairment and 30.5% reported that wearing spectacles was not effective in the treatment of refractive error. With regard to the information about eye healthcare, 88.1% of the participants reported they did not have enough information about eye care. The reported need for more information about prevention, treatment and symptoms was 34.0%, 31.4% and 17.5%, respectively. With regard to barriers, 80.6% of the students reported never having had their eyes tested. The most cited barriers were cost, fear of wearing spectacles and fear of an eye examination. In addition, 72.6% of students reported that their health insurance did not cover eye care services. Most (53.6%) of the parents believed that the cause of refractive error in children was poor nutrition. Common themes arising from the focus group discussions included parents reporting that they looked for traditional treatment for their children and preferring to receive child eye information from an eye specialist and through the television and radio. The most frequently cited barriers by the parents were high cost of the treatment, lack of eye care specialists, lack of awareness about child eye diseases and mistrust in eye care providers.Conclusion: The level of knowledge and practices about eye care and refractive error is low and perceptions about spectacles as a method for treatment for refractive error were fraught with misconceptions amongst students. There is a need for structured educational programmes to raise awareness regarding the effect and treatment modalities for childhood eye disease and visual impairment in order to address the barriers for accessing childhood eye care.Keywords: Children; school; eye care; spectacles; refractive error; knowledge;barriers; optometrist

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Eye care delivery models to improve access to eye care for Indigenous peoples in high-income countries: a scoping review

BMJ Global Health ◽

10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004484 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. e004484

Author(s):

Helen Burn ◽

Lisa Hamm ◽

Joanna Black ◽

Anthea Burnett ◽

Matire Harwood ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diabetic Retinopathy ◽

Service Delivery ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

High Income ◽

Eye Care ◽

Service Delivery Models ◽

Care Services ◽

Delivery Models ◽

Improve Access

PurposeGlobally, there are ~370 million Indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples typically experience worse health compared with non-Indigenous people, including higher rates of avoidable vision impairment. Much of this gap in eye health can be attributed to barriers that impede access to eye care services. We conducted a scoping review to identify and summarise service delivery models designed to improve access to eye care for Indigenous peoples in high-income countries.MethodsSearches were conducted on MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health in January 2019 and updated in July 2020. All study designs were eligible if they described a model of eye care service delivery aimed at populations with over 50% Indigenous peoples. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts and full-text articles and completed data charting. We extracted data on publication details, study context, service delivery interventions, outcomes and evaluations, engagement with Indigenous peoples and access dimensions targeted. We summarised findings descriptively following thematic analysis.ResultsWe screened 2604 abstracts and 67 studies fulfilled our eligibility criteria. Studies were focused on Indigenous peoples in Australia (n=45), USA (n=11), Canada (n=7), New Zealand (n=2), Taiwan (n=1) and Greenland (n=1). The main disease focus was diabetic retinopathy (n=30, 45%), followed by ‘all eye care’ (n=16, 24%). Most studies focused on targeted interventions to increase availability of services. Fewer than one-third of studies reported involving Indigenous communities when designing the service. 41 studies reflected on whether the model improved access, but none undertook rigorous evaluation or quantitative assessment.ConclusionsThe geographical and clinical scope of service delivery models to improve access to eye care for Indigenous peoples in high-income countries is narrow, with most studies focused on Australia and services for diabetic retinopathy. More and better engagement with Indigenous communities is required to design and implement accessible eye care services.

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Public Awareness regarding the Differences between Ophthalmologists and Optometrists among Saudi Adults Living in Riyadh: A Quantitative Study

Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.1155/2018/7418269 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mohammed Hamad Aldebasi ◽

Nasser Abdalazez Alsobaie ◽

Abdulrahman Yousef Aldayel ◽

Khalid Mousa Alwusaidi ◽

Tariq Alasbali

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis ◽

Public Knowledge ◽

Multivariate Logistic Regression ◽

Eye Care ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Awareness Campaign ◽

Care Services ◽

Population Education

Awareness of the patients to the differences between ophthalmologists and optometrists has been recognized as an important factor influencing patient utilization of available eye care services. This study aimed at assessing the public’s knowledge of the differences between ophthalmologists and optometrists among the residents of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire was administered to adults in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January to February in 2018. The number of the respondents was 1579. Results show that 50% (n=789) of the participants had fair knowledge of the differences between ophthalmologists and optometrists, while 32% (n=505) had poor knowledge. After multivariate logistic regression analysis, there was a significant association between satisfactory knowledge and visiting an optometrist (odds ratio (OR): 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57–0.98), age older than 26 (OR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.17–1.19), higher level of education (OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.54–2.4), and wearing spectacles (OR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.45–0.73). Given the low level of public knowledge regarding the differences in the duties between ophthalmologist and optometrists among a Saudi population, there is great potential for general population education through awareness campaign and social media regarding eye care provider’s duties and practices.

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The 2009 Eyeglasses and Eye Care Services Index

Optometry - Journal of the American Optometric Association ◽

10.1016/j.optm.2010.04.084 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 81 (6) ◽

pp. 324-325

Keyword(s):

Eye Care ◽

Care Services

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Prevalence of amblyopia and patterns of refractive error in the amblyopic children of a tertiary eye care center of Nepal

Nepalese Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.3126/nepjoph.v5i1.7820 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 38-44 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

K Sapkota ◽

A Pirouzian ◽

NS Matta

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Refractive Error ◽

Chart Review ◽

Care Center ◽

Retrospective Chart Review ◽

Ophthalmological Examination ◽

Eye Care ◽

Common Cause ◽

Ocular Pathology ◽

The Mean

Introduction: Refractive error is a common cause of amblyopia. Objective: To determine prevalence of amblyopia and the pattern and the types of refractive error in children with amblyopia in a tertiary eye hospital of Nepal. Materials and methods: A retrospective chart review of children diagnosed with amblyopia in the Nepal Eye Hospital (NEH) from July 2006 to June 2011 was conducted. Children of age 13+ or who had any ocular pathology were excluded. Cycloplegic refraction and an ophthalmological examination was performed for all children. The pattern of refractive error and the association between types of refractive error and types of amblyopia were determined. Results: Amblyopia was found in 0.7 % (440) of 62,633 children examined in NEH during this period. All the amblyopic eyes of the subjects had refractive error. Fifty-six percent (248) of the patients were male and the mean age was 7.74 ± 2.97 years. Anisometropia was the most common cause of amblyopia (p < 0.001). One third (29 %) of the subjects had bilateral amblyopia due to high ametropia. Forty percent of eyes had severe amblyopia with visual acuity of 20/120 or worse. About twothirds (59.2 %) of the eyes had astigmatism. Conclusion: The prevalence of amblyopia in the Nepal Eye Hospital is 0.7%. Anisometropia is the most common cause of amblyopia. Astigmatism is the most common types of refractive error in amblyopic eyes. Nepal J Ophthalmol 2013; 5(9):38-44 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v5i1.7820

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Perception of Eye Care Services among Patients Attending Mercy Eye Centre, Abak

Advances in Ophthalmology & Visual System ◽

10.15406/aovs.2017.07.00218 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Chinawa Ndubuisi Elijah

Keyword(s):

Eye Care ◽

Care Services

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Prevalence of severe visual impairment and barriers to access eye care services in the Udupi district

Asian Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.35119/asjoo.v17i4.291 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 343-355

Author(s):

Lavanya G. Rao ◽

Dushyanth Sharma ◽

Sulatha V. Bhandary ◽

Divya Handa ◽

Yogish Kamath

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Visual Acuity ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Visual Impairment ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Eye Care ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Services ◽

Care Facilities ◽

Lack Of Knowledge

Aim: To assess the prevalence of severe visual impairment (SVI) and reasons for not accessing eye care services in a field practice area of a tertiary care hospital. Study design: Cross-sectional observational study. Materials and methods: Through a cross-sectional study using simple random sampling, a total of 1510, individuals above 18 years of age, from six rural and maternity welfare centers (RMCW) within a distance of 20 km from a tertiary hospital were approached. All participants underwent basic assessment of visual acuity, anterior segment evaluation using torch light, and answered a structured questionnaire on eye care. Results: Of 1510 subjects, 267 had SVI (defined as visual acuity < 6/60 either in one or both eyes) with a prevalence of 17.7%. SVI was higher among men and those above 60 years of age (52.8%). Significant association was found between barriers to accessing eye care facilities and lack of knowledge to access health care (p = 0.004), lack of financial support (95% CI, p = 0.006), and social reasons (95% CI, p = 0.028). Prevalence of SVI among diabetics was 32.7% as compared to non-diabetics (OR: 2.630; 95% confidence interval: 1.864–3.712), and among hypertensives was 34.61% as compared to non-hypertensives (OR: 2.836; 95% confidence interval: 1.977–4.068). Conclusion: In spite of being close to a tertiary care center, a prevalence of SVI in 17.7% of this population indicates a lack of knowledge regarding the importance of self-health care in subjects. This emphasizes the need to increase the awareness among the general public to access the ophthalmic health care facilities in order to improve the ocular health of the patients.

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