Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness in the northern eThekwini district of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
African Vision and Eye Health
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness in the northern eThekwini district of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa | |
| Creator | Govender, Pirindhavellie Ramson, Prasidh Visser, Linda Naidoo, Kovin S. | |
| Description | Aim: To determine the prevalence and causes of visual impairment, cataract surgical coverage and barriers to cataract surgery amongst people in the northern eThekwini district of KwaZuluNatal Province, South Africa.Method: Thirty-three clusters of 50 subjects ≥ 50 years old were randomly selected. Consenting subjects underwent enumeration to establish a demographic profile and thereafter a clinical examination. Visual acuity (VA) was measured with a Tumbling ‘E’ chart; participants having a VA 6/18 were retested with a pinhole. If no improvement in VA occurred, subjects underwent clinical examination, including a dilated fundus exam where necessary, to determine the cause of visual impairment.Results: Of the 1650 subjects selected, 1542 (93.5%) were examined. The overall prevalence of blindness was 1.9%. The age- and gender-adjusted prevalence of blindness was 2.1%, severe visual impairment (SVI) 1.2%, and moderate visual impairment (MVI) 3.9%. Untreated cataract was the major cause of blindness (55.2%) and SVI (53.3%), and uncorrected refractive error was the major cause of MVI (49.1%). The cataract surgical coverage rate was 70% at visual acuity 3/60 level; 51% at visual acuity 6/60 level; and 38% at visual acuity 6/18 level. Poor awareness of cataract surgical intervention was the main reason that participants with untreated cataracts had not used existing cataract services.Conclusion: The prevalence of blindness in the study region was lower (by 1.98%) than World Health Organization estimates of 9% for the Africa-E sub-region (within which South Africa falls). There is no permanent cataract service in this region; the lower cataract surgical coverage rates indicate that a permanent eye care centre could significantly alleviate avoidable blindness, particularly that caused by cataract. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2015-06-12 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/aveh.v74i1.15 | |
| Source | African Vision and Eye Health; Vol 74, No 1 (2015); 7 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/15/335
https://avehjournal.org/index.php/aveh/article/view/15/336
https://avehjournal.org/index.php/aveh/article/view/15/337
https://avehjournal.org/index.php/aveh/article/view/15/303
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