Perceived Barriers to the Provision of Low Vision Services among Ophthalmologists in India

Barriers to the Provision of Clinical Low-Vision Services Among Ophthalmologists in Nigeria

“…This can be taken to share similarity with the perception of a lack of appropriate manpower as a barrier, cited by eight (9.6%) respondents. A similar study 16 conducted among ophthalmologists in India revealed a similar trend: 82.3% and 74.7% of the respondents cited a lack of training and a lack of awareness, respectively, as the major constraints to providing low-vision care. In other studies, it was also shown that the level of awareness and the practice of low-vision care seemed quite unimpressive and insignificant even among some health-care providers.…”

“…Non-availability of low-vision devices was also recorded to be a significant factor among Indian ophthalmologists (72.2%). 16 The fact that the non-availability of these devices is perceived as a barrier to the provision of low-vision service may, however, be related to the fact that many of these ophthalmologists are not skilled and knowledgeable in low-vision care due to the lack of training in this aspect of eye care. The perceived non-availability of low-vision devices in the country may be a strong pointer to the fact that many are not presently aware that low-vision devices from the Vision 2020 Low-Vision Resource Center of the Hong Kong Society for the Blind are being imported into Nigeria and that many of the simple devices can actually be produced locally using indigenously available materials and appropriate technology.…”

“…It is a well-known fact that the availability of low-vision services, like any other service, is logically related to the availability of trained human resources. 16 The human resource base must be established through the proper training of ophthalmologists and other eye-care workers/allied personnel in lowvision services. The finding that 96.4% of the respondents in our study were in support of including lowvision practice in the residency curriculum of Nigeria attests to this emerging need.…”

Prevalence, Causes, and Risk Factors for Functional Low Vision in Nigeria: Results from the National Survey of Blindness and Visual Impairment

“…A study in India suggested that providers of services may themselves be important barriers to a low vision service because they lack training, skills, and knowledge of low vision. 22 Even in the United Kingdom, low vision service provision is inadequate and there are geographical variations, with some regions being poorly served compared with others. 23 The challenge for Nigeria is enormous, but it has been shown that there is much that can be done with minimal training, equipment, and resources, particularly in the area of nonoptical interventions such as using color coding and increasing contrast.…”

Low Vision Assessment and Rehabilitation

“…Despite the advances in the field, uptake of low vision services still remain low due lack of awareness amongst the patients as well as the ophthalmologists. [15][16][17][18] Hence, a low vision clinician should be aware of the range of specialists, vocational services and community based services needed by people with low vision.…”