scholarly journals Evaluating Eye Health Care Services Progress Towards VISION 2020 Goals in Gurage Zone, Ethiopia.

Author(s):  
Tiliksew Teshome ◽  
Omar Salamanca ◽  
Alana Calise ◽  
Jibat Gemida Soboka

Abstract Background Ethiopia signed the VISION 2020 Global Declaration and launched its eye health program in 2002. Since then, there has been limited systematic and comprehensive evaluation of the progress towards VISION 2020 goals in Ethiopia.Purpose To evaluate Gurage Zone progress towards VISION 2020 targets and process indicators.Method An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among all public and private eye health care facilities in the Gurage Zone within the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People Region of Ethiopia. The evaluation protocol was adopted from the VISION 2020 situational analysis data collection tool. We used this structure to evaluate progress in terms of human resources, infrastructure, and service delivery at the Zonal Health Office and facility level.Result At the time of the study, the Gurage Zone had a 1.7 million catchment area population. There was a total of five eye care centers, of which one was established by a Non-Governmental Organization. Three of these facilities were secondary eye care centers with an operating theater and two of them were primary eye care centers. At the zonal level, there is no survey data available on the prevalence of blindness. There was no systemic evaluation of VISION 2020 process indicators. The budget allocation specific to eye health care was less than 0.7% of the total budget of the office. The human resources for eye health in the catchment area were: one ophthalmologist, two cataract surgeons, five optometrists, and 12 ophthalmic nurses, which is below the VISION 2020 targets for human resources for eye health. In terms of equipment, neither primary eye care center had a slit lamp biomicroscope, and two of the three secondary eye care centers did not have intraocular pressure (IOP) measuring equipment. Only one secondary eye care center was providing glaucoma surgical services, and no center provided either emergency or elective pediatric surgery. The cataract surgical rate (CSR) determined by the study was 1967.ConclusionGurage Zone had not achieved VISION 2020 goals in terms of critical human resources and service delivery. We recommend that the Zonal Health Office carries out a focused and baseline evaluation of eye health care service achievements.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Aghaji ◽  
Helen E. D. Burchett ◽  
Ngozi Oguego ◽  
Shaffa Hameed ◽  
Clare Gilbert

Abstract Background Over two-thirds of Africans have no access to eye care services. To increase access, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends integrating eye care into primary health care, and the WHO Africa region recently developed a package for primary eye care. However, there are limited data on the capacities needed for delivery, to guide policymakers and implementers on the feasibility of integration. The overall purpose of this study was to assess the technical capacity of the health system at primary level to deliver the WHO primary eye care package. Findings with respect to service delivery, equipment and health management information systems (HMIS) are presented in this paper. Methods This was a mixed-methods, cross sectional feasibility study in Anambra State, Nigeria. Methods included a desk review of relevant Nigerian policies; a survey of 48 primary health facilities in six districts randomly selected using two stage sampling, and semi-structured interviews with six supervisors and nine purposively selected facility heads. Quantitative study tools included observational checklists and questionnaires. Survey data were analysed descriptively using STATA V.15.1 (Statcorp, Texas). Differences between health centres and health posts were analysed using the z-test statistic. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis assisted by Open Code Software V.4.02. Results There are enabling national health policies for eye care, but no policy specifically for primary eye care. 85% of facilities had no medication for eye conditions and one in eight had no vitamin A in stock. Eyecare was available in < 10% of the facilities. The services delivered focussed on maternal and child health, with low attendance by adults aged over 50 years with over 50% of facilities reporting ≤10 attendances per year per 1000 catchment population. No facility reported data on patients with eye conditions in their patient registers. Conclusion A policy for primary eye care is needed which aligns with existing eye health policies. There are currently substantial capacity gaps in service delivery, equipment and data management which will need to be addressed if eye care is to be successfully integrated into primary care in Nigeria.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazim A Dhalla ◽  
Micheal Guirguis

AbstractBackgroundResearch is a critical component amongst the strategies to improve health outcomes of any country. The role of research assumes greater importance in Africa as it carries a larger share of global burden of diseases, blindness and low vision. “Vision 2020- the Right to Sight” is a WHO-IAPB collaborated initiative aiming to eliminate preventable blindness by the year 2020. High quality research in eye care is imperative for the initiative to succeed, however, there is a dearth of research in eye care in sub Saharan Africa in general and specifically in the Eastern, Central and Southern African (ECSA) region. Identifying the barriers that hamper research in this region is an important step towards elimination of preventable blindness.MethodsA structured questionnaire using the SurveyMonkey program was sent to ophthalmologists in the ECSA region and South Africa through their respective regional professional bodies. Data was analyzed using the SPSS program version.ResultsLack of funding, inadequate time and poor research knowledge were the main research barriers while ability to improve eye health care through research was the main incentive for conducting research.ConclusionThe barriers mainly center on financial, human and administrative infrastructure and resources. In spite of the barriers, ophthalmologists in the study region are enthusiastic in research aiming to increase evidence based knowledge to improve eye health care in line with the goals of “Vision 2020- the Right to Sight” initiative.


Author(s):  
J. E. Moyegbone ◽  
E. U. Nwose ◽  
S. D. Nwajei ◽  
E. A. Agege ◽  
J. O. Odoko ◽  
...  

Background: Alma Ata declaration form the bed rock that link primary health care (PHC) and health promotion to enable individuals and communities to increase control over the determinants of health. The declaration is meant to address the main health problems in the community by providing promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services including visual impairment. Objective: To evaluate the landmark achievement of eye health promotion for prevention of visual impairment in Nigeria. Methods: A non-systematic review of published literatures was adopted to develop this narrative review. Literatures searches were done through PubMed, google scholar and biomed central. Search terms included primary eye care (PEC), health promotion and Nigeria. 45 articles were reviewed. Results: Landmark achievement includes elimination of blinding trachoma and onchocerciasis as a public health problem following the treatment of 120 million people. Evaluation of the collaboration between Sightsavers, UK and the Ministry of Health in Sokoto State (Northern Nigeria) on VISION 2020 – Right to Sight program; showed an increase in the proportion of persons aged 50 years and over without visual impairment from 54.7% in 2005 to 77.3% in 2016. The prevalence of blindness in same age range declined from an estimated 11.6% to 6.8%, severe VI from 14.2% to 4.3% and moderate VI from 19.5% to 11.4%. A reduction in the estimated all‑age blindness prevalence by more than a half from 2.0% in 2005 to approximately 0.75% in 2016 was reported. No known similar evaluation was surveyed in the southern part of Nigeria to the knowledge of the researchers. However, non-integration of eye health promotional policy into PHC have left the Nigerian population in the miry clay of sustained prevalence of avoidable visual impairment. Conclusion: Alma Ata Declaration called on all governments to formulate national policies, strategies and plans of action to launch and sustain primary healthcare, integration of PEC and eye health promotional policies into PHC system to reduce the public health burden of avoidable visual impairment.


Author(s):  
Aaron Asibi Abuosi ◽  
Mahama Braimah

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine patient satisfaction with the quality of care in Ghana’s health-care facilities using a disaggregated approach. Design/methodology/approach The study was a cross-sectional national survey. A sample of 4,079 males and females in the age group of 15-49 years were interviewed. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and t-tests were used in statistical analysis. Findings About 70 per cent of patients were satisfied with the quality of care provided in health-care facilities in Ghana, whereas about 30 per cent of patients were fairly satisfied. Females and insured patients were more likely to be satisfied with the quality of care, compared with males and uninsured patients. Research limitations/implications Because data were obtained from a national survey, the questionnaire did not include the type of facility patients attended to find out whether satisfaction with the quality of care varied by the type of health facility. Future studies may, therefore, include this. Practical implications The study contributes to the literature on patient satisfaction with the quality of care. It highlights that long waiting time remains an intractable problem at various service delivery units of health facilities and constitutes a major source of patient dissatisfaction with the quality of care. Innovative measures must, therefore, be adopted to address the problem. Originality/value There is a paucity of research that uses a disaggregated approach to examine patient satisfaction with the quality of care at various service delivery units of health facilities. This study is a modest contribution to this research gap.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Wahida Zulkifli

BACKGROUND The public opinion and experience on the health care services are crucial to provide valuable insight towards improving and strengthening the health care systems. OBJECTIVE This study aims to explore the public perspective regarding the quality of health care services rendered by the health care facilities in Malaysia. METHODS The snowballing strategy was used to reach the target through an online opinion poll with three open-ended questions on the strengths of the healthcare facilities, their expectation and suggestion for improvement along with the sociodemographic characteristic. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. RESULTS A total of 800 participants (68% of females and 32% of males) participated. Their responses were grouped into 5 main themes namely: (1) system; (2) input; (3) service delivery; (4) outputs; (5) outcomes. Public feel that they are respected and treated with care by the healthcare providers. However, most of the participants highlighted the issue of long waiting time when they visited healthcare facilities. In relation to this issue, they suggested the facilities to have more staff especially doctors to improve current service. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, enhancing service delivery by reducing the waiting time, should be the main focus as viewed by the public. The quality of services provided would certainly be improved by having sufficient resources including healthcare workers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anurag Anil Saikar ◽  
Aditya Badve ◽  
Mihir Pradeep Parulekar ◽  
Ishan Patil ◽  
Sahil Shirish Belsare ◽  
...  

In emergency cases the delay in receiving the necessary pre-hospital care results in a large number of deaths every year. Providing appropriate preliminary care, along with proper time management and pre-hospital management can contribute to a better survival rate. Here the authors propose a portable system which transmits the vital parameters to the health care center along with the images of the patient, also availing the patient's Personal Health Record to the doctor, thus bridging the gap between the hospital and the ambulance and “virtually” bringing the doctor to the ambulance, thereby allowing him to diagnose the patient remotely and as accurately as possible. The paper puts a glance on rapidly developing field of Tele-medicine while proposing a system to overcome infrastructure inadequacies, which hamper the efficient use of Tele medicine systems (more specifically emergency tele-medicine) and provide better health care facilities in various medical situations, specifically those pertaining cases of burns, fatal wounds, head injuries, pregnancy and other such emergencies.


1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 413-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Nestadt ◽  
A. J. Romanoski ◽  
R. Chahal ◽  
A. Merchant ◽  
M. F. Folstein ◽  
...  

SynopsisIn conjunction with the Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) survey conducted in Baltimore, MD, a two-stage probability sample of community subjects was developed with a full psychiatric examination employing DSM-III criteria. This report details the observations on those subjects diagnosed with the DSM-III diagnosis Histrionic Personality Disorder. The results indicate that this condition can be diagnosed reliably and that it is a valid construct. It has a prevalence of 2·1 % in a general population. Males and females are equally affected, suggesting that prior reports of an increased prevalence in females was an expression of ascertainment bias found in hospital-based studies. The diagnosis is associated with clear evidence of disturbance in the emotional, behavioural, and social realms. Individuals with this disorder tend to use health care facilities more frequently than others.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Aghaji ◽  
Helen Burchett ◽  
Shaffa Hameed ◽  
Jayne Webster ◽  
Clare Gilbert

BACKGROUND Approximately 90% of the 253 million blind or visually impaired people worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries. Lack of access to eye care is why most people remain or become blind. The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) recently launched a primary eye care (PEC) package for sub-Saharan Africa—the WHO-AFRO PEC package—for integration into the health system at the primary health care (PHC) level. This has the potential to increase access to eye care, but feasibility studies are needed to determine the extent to which the health system has the capacity to deliver the package in PHC facilities. OBJECTIVE Our objective is to assess the technical feasibility of integrating the WHO-AFRO PEC package in PHC facilities in Nigeria. METHODS This study has several components, which include (1) a literature review of PEC in sub-Saharan Africa, (2) a Delphi exercise to reach consensus among experts regarding the technical complexity of the WHO-AFRO PEC package and the capacities needed to deliver it in PHC facilities, (3) development of PEC technical capacity assessment tools, and (4) data collection, including facility surveys and semistructured interviews with PHC staff and their supervisors and village health workers to determine the capacities available to deliver PEC in PHC facilities. Analysis will identify opportunities and the capacity gaps that need to be addressed to deliver PEC. RESULTS Consensus was reached among experts regarding the technical complexity of the WHO-AFRO PEC package and the capacities needed to deliver it as part of PHC. Quantitative tools (ie, structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and observation checklists) and topic guides based on agreed-upon technical capacities have been developed and relevant stakeholders have been identified. Surveys in 48 PHC facilities and interviews with health professionals and supervisors have been undertaken. Capacity gaps are being analyzed. CONCLUSIONS This study will determine the capacity of PHC centers to deliver the WHO-AFRO PEC package as an integral part of the health system in Nigeria, with identification of capacity gaps. Although capacity assessments have to be context specific, the tools and findings will assist policy makers and health planners in Nigeria and similar settings, who are considering implementing the package, in making informed choices. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/17263


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document