ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness among Kibera slum dwellers. DESIGN: Population based Survey. SETTING: Kibera Slums, Kibera Division, Nairobi, Kenya. SUBJECTS: One thousand four hundred and thirty eight randomly selected slum dwellers. RESULTS: The prevalence of blindness and visual impairment was 0.6% (95% CI: 0.21 to 1.0), and 6.2% (95% CI: 4.95 to 7.15) respectively. 37.5% of those found blind were due to cataract followed by refractive errors 25.0%. 58.1% of those with visual impairment had refractive errors while 35.5% had cataracts. Females had a higher prevalence of visual impairment compared to males but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.104). CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of blindness in Kibera slums is slightly lower than the estimated national average (0.7%) while that of visual impairment is almost three times higher. The leading causes of blindness are cataract followed by refractive errors. For visual impairment, refractive error was the leading cause followed by cataract. RECOMMENDATION: Kibera slum dwellers are in need of comprehensive eye care services offering cataract surgery and low cost spectacles.
Subject(s)
Blindness/epidemiology , Urban Population , Vision, Low/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Cataract/therapy , Child , Child, Preschool , Eyeglasses/economics , Health Services Needs and Demand , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Kenya/epidemiology , Middle Aged , Ophthalmology/economics , Poverty Areas , PrevalenceABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To identify the main barriers to utilisation of eye care services among the slum population of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. DESIGN: Community based survey. SETTING: Kibera slums, Nairobi City, Kenya. SUBJECTS: Randomly selected 1,438 Kibera slum dwellers aged over two years. RESULTS: Majority of subjects (83.3%) do not utilise the nearby well-established eye clinics. Twenty one percent of those with poor vision do not seek treatment at all. The main barriers to seeking eye care services were lack of money, ignorance and the problem not causing much discomfort to warrant medical attention. There was significant, association between the level of education and health seeking behaviour (P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Majority of Kibera slum dwellers have no access to eye care. RECOMMENDATION: There is need to establish a comprehensive primary eye care project to provide low cost but quality services affordable to Kibera slum dwellers.
