Uncorrected refractive errors, presbyopia and spectacle coverage in Kamuli District, Uganda

African Vision and Eye Health

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Uncorrected refractive errors, presbyopia and spectacle coverage in Kamuli District, Uganda
 
Creator Nsubuga, Naomi Ramson, Prasidh Govender, Pirindha Chan, VingFai Wepo, Mary Naidoo, Kovin S.
 
Subject health sciences; optometry; public health Uncorrected refractive errors; presbyopia; spectacle coverage
Description Background: Successful refractive error programmes arise from evidence that can be collected cost effectively and timely.Aim: To investigate the prevalence of uncorrected refractive error (URE), presbyopia and spectacle coverage in the Kamuli district, Uganda.Setting: The study was conducted in the Kamuli district in Uganda.Methods: The Rapid Assessment of Refractive Error (RARE) study design is a communitybased cross-sectional study using multistage cluster random sampling to gather information on refractive errors and presbyopia. Subjects aged 15 years and older were selected from the population in Kamuli district in Uganda. Vision impairment due to URE at distance and near and barriers to uptake of refractive error services were investigated.Results: Participants, N = 3281 (57.6% male), with an age range of 15–92 years were enumerated and the response rate was 100%. The prevalence of refractive errors was 4.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.7 – 5.5) and the spectacle coverage was 5.96% (95% CI 1.74% – 10.18%). The prevalence of uncorrected presbyopia was 50.3% (95% CI 47.6% – 53.0%) and the spectacle coverage was 0%. Thirty-three (or 1%) respondents were current spectacle users. One-hundred fourteen people (3.5%) had previously used spectacles; however, 50.9% of them discontinued spectacle use a year before the study because the spectacles were broken or scratched. The major barriers to spectacle uptake were accessibility of services and affordability of spectacles.Conclusion: The prevalence of URE and the barriers to uptake of refractive services will inform the implementation of refractive services in the study area. Key words: Uncorrected refractive errors; presbyopia and spectacle coverage
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Brien Holden Vision Institute
Date 2016-06-15
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Epidemiological study; Quantitative methods
Format text/html application/octet-stream text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/aveh.v75i1.327
 
Source African Vision and Eye Health; Vol 75, No 1 (2016); 6 pages 2410-1516 2413-3183
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://avehjournal.org/index.php/aveh/article/view/327/511 https://avehjournal.org/index.php/aveh/article/view/327/512 https://avehjournal.org/index.php/aveh/article/view/327/513 https://avehjournal.org/index.php/aveh/article/view/327/501
 
Coverage Africa; East Africa; Uganda 2010 Age; Gender; Education; Employment;
Rights Copyright (c) 2016 Naomi Nsubuga, Prasidh Ramson, Pirindha Govender, VingFai Chan, Mary Wepo, Kovin S. Naidoo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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