scholarly journals The Mobile Teleophthalmology Unit in Rural and Underserved Areas of South India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila John ◽  
Lavanya Allimuthu ◽  
Ranjitha Kannan ◽  
Ramesh BabuSekar ◽  
Martin Manoj Mathiyazahan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
South India ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Retinal Disease ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Internet Connectivity ◽  
Base Hospital ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Eye Camps

Objective: Our objective was to provide an eye care service to rural and underserved areas in Chennai, Kanchipuram, and Thiruvallur districts of Tamil Nadu, South India. Design: We conducted eye camps to provide ophthalmic services to the underserved and rural areas, where people cannot afford to go to a hospital due to lack of accessibility, lack of awareness, or financial constraints. Setting: The study was conducted in rural and underserved areas of Thiruvallur, Chennai, and Kanchipuram districts from January 2015 to December 2019. Participants: Patients (N = 1,05,827) underwent comprehensive eye examination in eye camps with the state-of-art ophthalmic equipment. Main outcome measures: To report on the number of patients examined, number of eye disorders screened, and different types of ocular pathology screened, all clinical findings were recorded and all ocular images were uploaded in the electronic medical records. All patients with ocular diseases underwent teleconsultation with an ophthalmologist at the base hospital with internet connectivity. Video conferencing and teleconsultation were feasible only in areas with good internet connectivity. Results: Over the 5-year study period, 1,05,827 patients underwent eye evaluation at 1,061 eye camps. Among these, 48,354 (45.7%) patients were males, 57,473 (54.3%) patients were females, 15,515 patients were emmetropes. The most common cause of avoidable blindness was uncorrected refractive error detected in 66,137 eyes, referable cataract was seen in 13,536 eyes, 2,491 eyes were identified to have retinal diseases, and there were 789 patients with only diabetic retinopathy, thus totaling to 3,280 comprising of all retinal disease. 2424 patients received teleconsultations. For further investigations and treatment, which were provided free of cost, patients were referred to the base hospital in Chennai. There were 6,309 patients who received free spectacles and an additional 31,192 patients received spectacles at a low cost; 13,536 patients had referable cataract and were referred to the base hospital for further evaluation and surgery. Conclusions: Teleophthalmology holds great potential to overcome barriers, improve quality, access, and affordability to eye care, and has proven to be an innovative means of taking comprehensive eye care facilities to the doorsteps of rural India.

scholarly journals CATARACT & OTHER CO MORBIDITIES – STUDY FROM NORTH INDIA.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Kumar ◽  
Angli Manhas ◽  
Rameshwar S Manhas ◽  
Dinesh Gupta ◽  
Aditi Gupta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
North India ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Co Morbidity ◽  
Department Of Ophthalmology ◽  
Medical Facilities ◽  
Systemic Examination ◽  
Eye Camps

Background: Rural areas are away from medical facilities & these areas catters more than 3/4th of Indian populations. Thus, eye care services need to be planned & executed in these areas. Aim: To determine the prevalence of other ocular and systemic co-morbidities among the camp selected cataract patients in rural areas. Methodology: The present observational study was conducted at postgraduate department of Ophthalmology of GMC Jammu & involved patients from various eye camps selected for ECCE (SICS with PC-IOL implantation surgery). Total of 84 patients were participated in the study. Detailed history was taken from the patient & relevant ocular & systemic examination was done.Routine investigations were also done. Results: The most frequently occuring systemic co-morbidities was hypertension i.e.36.9% followed by back pain in 32.1% in the present study. The ocular co-morbities other than cataract were diabetic retinopathy in 4.8%, glaucoma in 3.6% etc. Among other ocular co morbidity, optic atrophy, amblyopia, chorioretinal atrophy, macular scar etc were noted. Conclusion: From present study it has been concluded that large number of patients who came to seek ocular treatment in eye camps has systemic co morbidities also. Thus, other specialities should also be part of team of eye camp so that along with eye other comorbidities should also be treated. Key words: Cataract, Ocular co-morbidities, Systemic co-morbidities.

scholarly journals Traditional eye medicine associated keratitis- Current trends and practices

2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 731-735
Author(s):  
Preethi B ◽  
Preeti Mittal ◽  
Kiran Kumar K ◽  
Sriya Sridhar ◽  
Suresh Babu G
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
South India ◽  
Corneal Ulcer ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Care Centre ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Demographic Profile ◽  
Study Population

To study the prevalence, types and demographic profile of traditional eye medicine (TEM) use among corneal ulcer patients presenting to a tertiary eye care centre in South India.A cross-sectional study conducted on 432 new corneal ulcer patients at a tertiary eye care centre in South India from September 2018 to July 2019. Data collected included demographic profile such as name, age, sex, occupation, income, rural/urban residence, type of TEM use. Of the 432 new corneal ulcer cases, 32 used TEM. Most TEM users belonged to the age group 40- 60 years (n= 20; 62.5%). There was no difference in sex distribution. Majority of TEM users in our study resided in rural areas (n= 30; 93.75%), were involved in agriculture as occupation (n=28, 87.5%) and belonged to the lower socioeconomic status n=31(96.88%) as per Kuppuswamy classification. Profile of TEM used ranged from plant extract (n= 14; 43.75%), tongue cleaning (n= 5; 15.63%), oil (n= 7; 21.87%), breast milk (n= 4; 12.5%) and ash (n= 2; 6.25%). Use of traditional medicine is a prevalent practice in the study population. These findings offer a better understanding of health seeking behaviour of the study population which will lead to better planning, implementation and targeting of preventive and promotive eye services and awareness programmes.

Authorship Correction: Effect of Door-to-Door Screening and Awareness Generation Activities in the Catchment Areas of Vision Centers on Service Use: Protocol for a Randomized Experimental Study (Preprint)

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalinder Sabherwal ◽  
Anand Chinnakaran ◽  
Ishaana Sood ◽  
Gaurav K Gary ◽  
Birendra P Singh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Care Service ◽  
North India ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Primary Eye Care ◽  
Catchment Areas

UNSTRUCTURED A vision center (VC) is a significant eye care service model to strengthen primary eye care services. VCs have been set up at the block level, covering a population of 150,000-250,000 in rural areas in North India. Inadequate use by rural communities is a major challenge to sustainability of these VCs. This not only reduces the community’s vision improvement potential but also impacts self-sustainability and limits expansion of services in rural areas. The current literature reports a lack of awareness regarding eye diseases and the need for care, social stigmas, low priority being given to eye problems, prevailing gender discrimination, cost, and dependence on caregivers as factors preventing the use of primary eye care. Our organization is planning an awareness-cum-engagement intervention—door-to-door basic eye checkup and visual acuity screening in VCs coverage areas—to connect with the community and improve the rational use of VCs. In this randomized, parallel-group experimental study, we will select 2 VCs each for the intervention arm and the control arm from among poor, low-performing VCs (ie, walk-in of ≤10 patients/day) in our 2 operational regions (Vrindavan, Mathura District, and Mohammadi, Kheri District) of Uttar Pradesh. Intervention will include door-to-door screening and awareness generation in 8-12 villages surrounding the VCs, and control VCs will follow existing practices of awareness generation through community activities and health talks. Data will be collected from each VC for 4 months of intervention. Primary outcomes will be an increase in the number of walk-in patients, spectacle advise and uptake, referral and uptake for cataract and specialty surgery, and operational expenses. Secondary outcomes will be uptake of refraction correction and referrals for cataract and other eye conditions. Differences in the number of walk-in patients, referrals, uptake of services, and cost involved will be analyzed. Background work involved planning of interventions and selection of VCs has been completed. Participant recruitment has begun and is currently in progress. Through this study, we will analyze whether our door-to-door intervention is effective in increasing the number of visits to a VC and, thus, overall sustainability. We will also study the cost-effectiveness of this intervention to recommend its scalability. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04800718; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04800718

scholarly journals Obesity among adult population of a rural coastal area in South India

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Ramesh Chand Chauhan ◽  
Neelima Singh Chauhan ◽  
Mani Kandan ◽  
Anil Jacob Purty ◽  
Amit Kumar Mishra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Coastal Area ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
South India ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Community Based Programs ◽  
Prevalence Of Obesity ◽  
Study Participants

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Obesity is associated with cardiovascular diseases and has become the main public health issue in India. However, the prevalence of obesity in India varies widely. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among rural adults in a coastal area of South India.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> The prevalence of overweight and obesity was assessed among individuals of 15 years and above living in a rural coastal area of Tamil Nadu in India.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Among 207 adult participants, 69.1% were female. About one-fourth (23.7%) of the participants were in age group of 15-24 years and 67.2% participants were literate. About one-third (30%) of the adults were overweight. Obesity was present in 14% of the study participants (26% by using the Asian cut-offs). Using waist circumference and waist-hip ratio cut-offs, abdominal obesity was observed among 55% and 57% of the participants. Among females the central obesity was more common than males. <strong></strong></p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The prevalence of obesity in rural areas was high. There is need to implement community based programs to tackle the increasing obesity.

scholarly journals Reaching Patients in the Himalayas – The Growth of ‘Eye Camps’

2009 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Rafal Nowak ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Service System ◽  
Underserved Populations ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Poor Country ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Small Incision Cataract Surgery ◽  
Significant Positive Change ◽  
Eye Camps

Nepal is a small, landlocked country draped along the greatest heights of the Himalayan mountains. Despite the fact that it is the major tourist destination in the region, it remains a poor country with the burden of problems typical for underserved populations, including an insufficient medical service system. Cataract continues to be the main cause of blindness in this country. However, in recent years there has been a significant positive change in this situation: Nepal has managed to develop a specific, relatively efficient eye-care service system whose highlights are well-organised eye hospitals, eye camps and the manual small-incision cataract surgery (SICS) technique of cataract removal. The aim of this article is to describe these latest advances in the Nepalese eye-care system, with an emphasis on eye camps as the particular manner of eye-care delivery to patients living in rural, mountainous areas.

Patient's Perspective of Eye Service Quality in Yogyakarta's Teaching Hospital

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Dhimas Hari Sakti ◽  
Indra Tri Mahayana ◽  
Firman Setya Wardhana ◽  
Dwima Faiqa Nafisha ◽  
Dhimas Ali Firman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Teaching Hospital ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Significant Difference

Introduction : The eye care service in The Dr. Sardjito Hospital has one of the highest number of patients amongst other health care services provided. Thus evaluation of the patients' satisfaction upon the service provision is needed to improve the quality of the eye care service. Methods : A cross-sectional study was performed in the ophthalmology outpatient clinic at the teaching hospital in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Interviews were conducted on 77 patients using Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form (PSQ-18) in 2017. Results : Overall, patients were mostly satisfied with the interpersonal manner of the doctors (mean : 4.12  0.42) and least satisfied with the time spent with doctors (mean : 3.310.95). There was a statistically significant difference among each subscale (p=0.000). Gender, income, occupation, and education had no significant statistical difference to the aspects of quality. However, significant differences were found in the financial aspects of marital status, education level, and co-diagnoses group with p-value of 0.009, 0.043, and 0.048 respectively. Conclusions : Patient satisfaction could be improved by increasing the time spent at each visit with the doctor. Meanwhile, financial aspect is mostly affected by the patients’ background. This study needs to be continued to get wider perspectives on the larger population sample of eye patients. Therefore, the quality of eye care services may be improved.

scholarly journals Health and hygienic activities of dalits, a special reference with arunthathiars in western tamil nadu

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-56
Author(s):  
Saranya Devi R ◽  
Suresh Babu N R
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Health Care Service ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Basic Knowledge

Health is a common right to people in all aspects. According to Article 25 of the Universal Declarations of Human Rights, everyone has the right to a standard of living, adequate for the health of himself, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary services. Though “health is wealth”, a popular sayingin almost every family world over, one seldom pays attention to the fact that it is the wealth. It determines that health and access to health care without wealth can remain merely an illusion. In India Caste system plays an important role in distribution of power and adequate services. In it, Dalits are most depressed andunder drowned people, especially in rural areas they don’t even have a permanent work and sufficient income and they do not acquire an adequate service of health. Dalits don’t have basic knowledge towards health care and preventive measures and they don’t have a proper health care service too. This conclusionhowever raises another obvious question i.e., whether one’s social or caste background determines his economic status, and consequently his access to better health care services as well. Without an economic stability and basic knowledge towards health, how they will take care of themselves and their family?Dalits are treated as untouchables till now then who will direct their health care activities? Then what is the part of government in their health progress? What is their present socio- economic and educational condition? What is their attitude towards disease and preventive measures? Who will be more responsiblein families’ health? Answering these questions becomes more crucial not only to understand the health status of any community or caste but also to identify the various factors responsible for the same.

Impact of Elected Women Representatives of Panchayati Raj in Physical and Financial and Business Assets Development of Rural Women: A Study among the Rural Women’s of Tiruvannamalai District, Tamil Nadu[1]

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (24) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalaichelvi Sivaraman ◽  
Rengasamy Stalin
Keyword(s):  
Rural Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Panchayati Raj

This research paper is the part of Research Project entitled “Impact of Elected Women Representatives in the Life and Livelihood of the Women in Rural Areas: With Special Reference to Tiruvannamalai District, Tamil Nadu” funded by University of Madras under UGC-UPE Scheme.The 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution of India were made by the government to strengthen the position of women and to create a local-level legal foundation for direct democracy for women in both rural and urban areas. The representation for women in local bodies through reservation policies amendment in Constitution of India has stimulated the political participation of women in rural areas. However, when it’s comes to the argument of whether the women reservation in Panchayati Raj helps or benefits to the life and livelihood development of women as a group? The answer is hypothetical because the studies related to the impact of women representatives of Panchayati Raj in the life and livelihood development of women was very less. Therefore, to fill the gap in existing literature, the present study was conducted among the rural women of Tiruvannamalai district to assess the impact of elected women representatives in the physical and financial and business development of the women in rural areas. The findings revealed that during the last five years because of the women representation in their village Panjayati Raj, the Physical Asset of the rural women were increased or developed moderately (55.8%) and Highly (23.4%) and the Financial and Business Asset of the rural women were increased or developed moderately (60.4%) and Highly (18.7%).

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