Eye care service utilization and associated factors among older adults in Hawassa city, South Ethiopia

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the proportion of eye care service utilization and associated factors among older adults age � 40 years in Hawassa city, South Ethiopia, June 2019. Method A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged 40 years and above who permanently live in Hawassa city from April 25 to May 30, 2019. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 704 participants. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The collected data was entered to EPI info version 7 & was analyzed by SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regression model was used to identify actual predictors of eye care service utilization. All variables were entered to multivariable analysis and variables with p-value < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Result A total of 668 adults participated with a response rate of 94.9%. The median (±IQR) age of study respondents was 48(±10) years and 52.7% were females. The proportion of eye care service utilization within the past 2 years was found to be 23.8% [95% CI: 20.5%-27.1%]. Having history of eye disease [AOR = 9.8, 95% CI: 6.1-15.6], having awareness of regular eye checkup importance [AOR = 7.3, 95% CI:4.4-12.2], older age (age �65 years) [AOR = 5.0, 95% CI:1.9-13.3] and higher family monthly income (income �6000 ETB) [AOR = 3.0, 95% CI:1.5-5.7] and income 4001-5999 ETB [AOR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.4-5.9] were positively associated with eye care service utilization. Conclusion and recommendation The proportion of eye care service utilization among older adults in Hawassa city was low. Having a history of eye disease, having awareness about regular eye checkup importance, older age and higher family monthly income were significantly associated with utilization of

Use of Eye Care Service and Associated Factors Among Adult Diabetic Patients Attending at Diabetic Clinics in Two Referral Hospitals, Northeast Ethiopia

“…This finding is in line with the finding from studies done in Nigeria (29%), 18 Tanzania (29%), 29 USA (33.2%), 24 and China (33.3%). 15 However, the current study finding is higher than reports from studies have done in Ethiopia (23.8%), 20 Kenya (13.3%), 19 and Indonesia (15.3%). 16 This difference might be the result of variation in inclusion and exclusion criteria of the studies, study setting, and sample size.…”

“…In this study, increasing age was one of the important factors for use of eye care service, in which aged 65 and above was 3.15 times more likely to use eye care service than age from 18–39 years. This finding is supported by studies done in Ethiopia, 20 South Africa, 30 and the USA. 24 The possible reason is that as the age increases, seeking eye care services could also increase because age-related eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataract, and diabetic retinopathy are more prevalent in old diabetic patients.…”

“…18,19 Moreover, a study done in Ethiopia reported that utilization of eye care service among the older adult population was 23.8%. 20 Most research done regarding the use of eye care services reported that lack of health insurance, absence of visual symptoms, poor knowledge about diabetic ocular complications, no need of screening at an asymptomatic stage, poor attitude towards the need for regular eye checkups, and lack of time were negative impacts on the use of eye care service. 18,21,22 Diabetes-related visual impairment is not only a result of a large financial burden on individuals and their families due to the cost of treatments but also has a substantial economic impact on countries and national health systems.…”

“… 18 , 19 Moreover, a study done in Ethiopia reported that utilization of eye care service among the older adult population was 23.8%. 20 …”

Utilization of eye health services and diabetic retinopathy: a cross-sectional study among persons living with diabetes visiting a tertiary eye care facility in Ghana

“…This prevalence was 6.4 % higher compared with what Benoit and colleagues established (15.3 %) [ 16 ] and almost half of what Akuffo et al established in South Africa (49.0 %) [ 17 ]. In addition, this proportion is 1.1 % less and statistically not different compared with what was established in Hawassa city, South Ethiopia [ 18 ]. The difference between our current study compared with other scholars could be due to the different populations involved, the type of study design, and the jurisdiction of the participants involved.…”