ABSTRACT
To estimate cataract surgical rate [CSR] in 2003 in the 20 Governorates of Yemen in order to identify their needs to reduce cataract related blindness. To estimate the cataract surgical rate in 2003, a standardized questionnaire was sent to the 162 eye units in governmental, university military and private clinics and hospitals. The response rate to the survey was 96.9 percent and the data are summarized. During the 12-month period, a total of 31,258 cataract surgeries were performed by 203 ophthalmology specialists and residents. The cataract surgical rate was 1,560 operations per million inhabitants per year. Intraocular lens implantation was performed on 71.6 percent of the cases. There is a need to increase the cataract surgical rate in Yemen mainly in rural areas. Inadequate number of eye surgeons, limited accessibility of cataract surgical services in rural areas and the affordability of surgery to large sections of society are major constraints that has to be addressed. The information from this study will also enable Ministry of Health to more equitably disperse trained ophthalmic personnel
Subject(s)
Humans , Surveys and Questionnaires , Lens Implantation, Intraocular/statistics & numerical data , Rural Population , Blindness/epidemiology , Needs Assessment , PrevalenceABSTRACT
To describe eye health care services in 2003 in 22 Eastern Mediterranean Region countries. Data were collected and reviewed from the reports of national programs for the prevention of blindness in the 22 Eastern Mediterranean Region countries. The data obtained were further processed and analyzed by using Excel 2000 program. The prevalence of blindness ranged from 0.7% to 2.0%. The total number of cataract surgeries per one million inhabitants per year [CSR] in 2003 was calculated and ranged from 260 [Afghanistan] to 2250 [Pakistan]. The number of ophthalmologists in the 22 countries ranged from one ophthalmologist for 565.000 population in Somalia to one ophthalmologist for 14.000 in Egypt. Eye health care services in Eastern Mediterranean Region countries differ from country to country due to various economic and political factors in the region