Prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment in Kogi state, Nigeria-Findings from a Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness survey.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment among adults in Kogi, Nigeria. METHODS: A Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness (RAAB) protocol was used with additional tools measuring disability and household wealth to measure the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment (VI) and associations with sex, disability, wealth, cataract surgical coverage and its effectiveness. RESULTS: Age- and sex-adjusted all-cause prevalence of bilateral blindness was 3.6% (95%CI 3.0-4.2%), prevalence of blindness among people living with additional, non-visual disabilities was 38.3% (95% CI 29.0-48.6%) compared to 1.6% (95%CI 1.2-2.1%; [Formula: see text] = 771.9, p<0.001) among people without additional disabilities. Cataract was the principal cause of bilateral blindness (55.3%). Cataract surgical coverage (CSC) at visual acuity (VA) 3/60 was 48.0%, higher among men than women (53.7% vs 40.3%); 12.0% among people with non-visual disabilities; 66.9% among people without non-visual disabilities, being higher among people in the wealthiest two quintiles (41.1%) compared to the lowest three (24.3%). Effective Cataract Surgical Coverage at Visual Acuity 6/60 was 31.0%, higher among males (34.9%) than females (25.5%), low among people with additional, non-visual disabilities (1.9%) compared to people with no additional disabilities (46.2%). Effective CDC was higher among people in the wealthiest two quintiles (411%) compared to the poorest three (24.3%). Good surgical outcome (VA>6/18) was seen in 61 eyes (52.6%) increasing to 71 (61.2%) eyes with best correction. Cost was identified as the main barrier to surgery. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest there exists inequalities in eye care with women, poorer people and people with disabilities having a lower Cataract Surgical Coverage, thereby, underscoring the importance of eye care programs to address these inequalities.

The future of data management for pediatric cataract.

Cataract is a leading cause of blindness in children worldwide. Blindness can be treated with effective surgery, but in low-resource settings this treatment can be difficult to access. In addition, positive outcomes of the surgery are heavily dependent on comprehensive postoperative care. To date in Nigeria and many other low-resource countries, robust electronic data-management systems that help facility teams to manage their patient data, especially when it comes to tracking children for follow-up visits after surgery, have either yet to be put into place or are in place but have yet to be refined to respond to the specific needs of eye care programs. Sightsavers has worked with multiple state ministries in Nigeria to set up and test a system that responds to those needs.

Assessing the prevalence of refractive errors and accuracy of vision screening by schoolteachers in Liberia.

BACKGROUND: Evidence indicates that school-based vision screening by trained teachers is an effective way of identifying and addressing potential vision problems in schoolchildren. However, inconsistencies have been reported in both the testing methods and accuracy of the screeners. This study assessed the prevalence of refractive errors and accuracy of screening by teachers in Grand Kru County, Liberia. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from four schools where, in February 2019, children were screened for refractive errors by trained teachers and then re-examined by ophthalmic technicians. One row of five optotypes of the Snellen 6/9 (0.2 logMar) scale (tumbling E chart) was used at a distance of 3 m. The prevalence of visual impairment and associations with sex, age and school were explored. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were calculated. RESULTS: Data were available for 823 of 1095 eligible children with a mean age of 13.7 y (range 5-18) and male:female ratio of 1:0.8. Poor vision was identified in 24 (2.9%) children with no differences by either sex or age but small differences by school. Screening by teachers had a sensitivity of 0.25 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.077 to 0.423) and a specificity of 0.996 (95% CI 0.992 to 1.000). Positive and negative predictive values were 0.667 (95% CI 0.359 to 0.975) and 0.978 (95% CI 0.968 to 0.988), respectively. The results were influenced by a high number of misclassifications in one of the four schools. CONCLUSIONS: Teachers can be trained to conduct vision screening tests on schoolchildren to an acceptable level of accuracy, but strong monitoring and quality assurance systems should be built into screening programmes from the onset. In settings like Liberia, where many children do not attend school regularly, screening programmes should extend to community platforms to reach children out of school.

Willingness to pay for cataract surgery is much lower than actual costs in Zamfara state, northern Nigeria.

PURPOSE: Direct medical and non-medical costs incurred by those undergoing subsidised cataract surgery at Gusau eye clinic, Zamfara state, were recently determined. The aim of this study was to assess the willingness to pay for cataract surgery among adults with severe visual impairment or blindness from cataract in rural Zamfara and to compare this to actual costs. METHODS: In three rural villages served by Gusau eye clinic, key informants helped identify 80 adults with bilateral severe visual impairment or blindness (<6/60), with cataract being the cause in at least one eye. The median amount participants were willing to pay for cataract surgery was determined. The proportion willing to pay actual costs of the (i) subsidised surgical fee (US$18.5), (ii) average non-medical expenses (US$25.2), and (iii) average total expenses (US$51.2) at Gusau eye clinic were calculated. Where participants would seek funds for surgery was determined. RESULTS: Among 80 participants (38% women), most (n = 73, 91%) were willing to pay something, ranging from

Direct non-medical costs double the total direct costs to patients undergoing cataract surgery in Zamfara state, Northern Nigeria: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Cost is frequently reported as a barrier to cataract surgery, but few studies have reported costs of accessing surgery in Africa. The purpose of this prospective, facility based study was to compare direct non-medical cost with total direct cost of cataract surgery to patients, and to assess how money was found to cover costs. METHODS: Participants were those aged 17 years and above attending their first post-operative visit after first eye, subsidised, day case cataract surgery. Systematic random sampling was used to select participants who were interviewed to obtain data on socio-demographic details, and on expenditure during the assessment visit, the surgical visit, and the first follow-up visit. Costs were a) direct medical costs (patients' costs for registration, investigations, surgery, medication), and b) direct non-medical costs (patients' and escorts' costs for transport, accommodation, meals). The source of funds to pay for the services received was also assessed. RESULTS: Almost two thirds (63%) of the 104 participants were men. The mean age of men was 64 (± 12.5) years, being 63 (± 12.9) years for women. All men were married and 35% of women were widows. 84% of men were household heads compared with 6% of women. The median total direct cost for all visits by all participants was N8,245 (US$51), being higher for men than women (N9,020; US$56 and N7,620; US$47) (p < 0.09) respectively. Direct non-medical cost constituted 49% of total direct cost. 92% of participants had adequate money to pay, but 8% had to sell possessions to raise the money. 20% of unmarried women sold possessions or took out a loan. CONCLUSION: Despite the subsidy, cost is still likely to be a barrier to accessing cataract surgery, as the total direct costs represented at least 50 days income for 70% of the local population. Provision of transport would reduce direct non-medical costs.