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Objective: The aim of the following study was to determine the types of intervention sought by the blind street beggars and assess the barriers to accessing available eye care services. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among consenting blind street beggars in Sokoto, Nigeria between May and June, 2009. A semi-structured interview was conducted to probe issues on historical antecedents of the blindness and the eye heath seeking behavior including the use of traditional eye medications. Assessment of barriers to accessing curative services among the blind persons was explored. Questions were asked and the individual responses were recorded in the questionnaire under the appropriate sections. Results: Two hundred and two of 216 (94.7%) of the examined subjects were found to be blind and included in the analysis. The principal cause of blindness was corneal opacity. Overall 82% of the blindness was due to avoidable causes with majority irreversibly blind. Only 38 subjects (18.8%) sought for intervention in hospitals, others resorted to self-medication (42.1%), medicine store (31.2%) and traditional facility (7.9%). Those that accessed treatment at a hospital did so mainly at a primary health center (50.0%) and General Hospitals (34.2%). The barriers to accessing treatment at the hospital were mainly due to "not taken to any hospital" by the parents/relatives (50.3%) and "services not available" (25.2%). Conclusion: Most respondents resorted to ocular self-medication particularly traditional eye medicines. We advocate for a provision of affordable, accessible and qualitative eye care services with a strong health education component on avoidable causes of blindness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of low vision and blindness, identify the causes, and suggest policies for an effective eye care program based on 2005 data from Sokoto State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A stratified two-stage cluster sampling method was used to quantify the prevalence of blindness and the causes from 4 health zones in Sokoto State. Subjects were evaluated using a magnifying loupe, direct ophthalmoscope and torchlight. Data were collected based on the World Health Organization prevention of blindness coding for an eye examination. Prevalences with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated and surgical coverage for causes of blindness was also analyzed. Results: The response rate was 91%. The prevalence of bilateral blindness was 1.9% (95% CI: 1.5-2.3%) ranging from 1.6% to 2.0% across the four health zones. The prevalence was 2.1% (95% CI: 1.6-2.6%) in males and 1.6% (95% CI: 1.1-2.1%) in females. The leading cause of bilateral blindness was cataract (51.6%), followed by uncorrected aphakia (20.9%) and glaucoma (11%). The prevalence of bilateral operable cataract was 1.9% (95% CI: 1.5-2.3%). The cataract surgical coverage (individuals with visual acuity <6/60) for the study was lower than the couching coverage (4.4% vs. 14.9%, respectively). Surgical coverage for trichiasis was 4.4%. The major barrier to cataract and glaucoma management was cost. Conclusions: The prevalence of blindness in Sokoto State is high yet the main causes are largely avoidable. Barriers can be reduced by appropriate health education regarding the eye care program and the provision of integrated, sustainable, affordable and equitable services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: A blindness prevalence survey in 1996 indicated that estimates of 40000 are blind from cataracts in Kano state, northwestern Nigeria. Many more were severely visually impaired. Eye care personnel and other resources for eye care delivery are located at the state capital. The state Ministry of Health organized an outreach program. The aim was to operate on 750 cataract patients and measure the visual acuity at two weeks follow up. METHOD: Patients were registered and examined. Cataract patients with accurate four quadrant light projection, briskly reacting pupils and normal intra ocular pressures were selected and had manual extra capsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber intra ocular lens implantation. Post operative medications were administered. Patients were reviewed at 2 weeks follow up after discharge during which their visual acuity was measured and recorded. RESULTS: 868 cataract patients were operated. Thirty two percent of the patients were blind before surgery and 77% of these had bilateral cataracts. The proportion of those who had posterior chamber intra ocular lens (PC IOL) was 85%. The proportion of patients who regained normal vision was 43% and overall, 94% had vision of 6/60 or, better after surgery compared with 20% in this category before surgery, (WHO vision category 0 and 1). CONCLUSION: Cataract outreach service is essential in reducing cataract blindness. There is need to follow up patients although the vision recorded for this study was obtained at two weeks follow up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]