Visual Impairment among Commercial Motorcyclists

Background: Normal vision is a universal requirement for safe riding of motorcycles. This study aims to determine the prevalence of visual impairment among commercial motorcyclists in Benin City; Nigeria. Method: This is a prospective cross sectional study carried out in Oredo Local Government Area (LGA) of Benin City. Each motorcycle park was taken as a cluster; and all motorcyclists in that park had structured questionnaires administered to them. One hundred and forty three commercial male motorcyclists in eleven motorcycle parks in Oredo LGA were subsequently examined with Snellen's chart or illiterate E chart as applicable. The main outcome measures eligibility for driver's licence on account of vision test as required by the Federal Road Safety Corps of Nigeria. Results: Ninety eight point six percent (98.6) of those examined had acceptable driving vision requirement according to Federal Road Safety Corps. One point four percent (1.4) had subnormal visual acuity; while 5.3had refractive errors. Ocular pathologies were found in 11.5of the eyes examined. Conclusion: Most commercial motorcyclists may pass the Federal Road Safety Corps. However Colour vision and visual field testing may give a more reliable result

Reducing the Barriers to the Uptake of Cataract Surgical Services in a Tertiary Hospital

Background: Cataract is a major cause of avoidable blindness and is responsible for about 50of global blindness.Objective: To determine the effect of reducing barriers to the uptake of cataract surgical services at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital; Benin City; Nigeria.Study Design and Methods: A comparative retrospective study of the number of cataract surgeries performed from January 2005 to December 2008 was carried out. A joint partnership between the Ophthalmology Department; the hospital management and a non-profit; non-governmental organization (NGO) was established to tackle the barriers of awareness; access and high cost of surgery to the uptake of cataract surgery from January 2005. The Ophthalmology Department and hospital management agreed to perform cataract surgeries free for all cataract patients while the NGO provided all the consumables required. The number of cataract surgeries performed was obtained from the theatre records and the data obtained analysed for the number of surgeries done per year.Results: The total number of cataract surgeries performed as seventy five (75); one hundred and twenty nine (129); one hundred and six (106) and three hundred and eighty-three (383) for the years 2005; 2006; 2007 and 2008; respectively showing a significant increase in the year 2008. Poor awareness; the bureaucracy of the referral system and high cost of surgery were identified as barriers to the uptake of cataract surgical services at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Publicity through the mass media; direct presentation of patients to the eye clinic for screening and providing cataract services free to all patients were methods used to overcome these barriers. Conclusion: Cataract surgical output can be increased by concerted effort and joint partnership among stakeholders in the eye care sector by recognising and reducing the barriers to the uptake of cataract surgical services