Visual Disability and Causes of Preventable Blindness

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, worldwide, approximately 1300 million people with a form of visual impairment. More than 314 million have a severe visual impairment. Of these, 37 million are blind and 124 million suffer from low vision. Eighty percent of all these cases are considered avoidable. The main causes of blindness from one country to another, in order of frequency, are cataract (39%), uncorrected refractive errors (18%), and glaucoma (10%). In Latin America and the Caribbean, the loss of vision in adults continues to be a public health problem. Blindness and visual impairment tombs have a remarkable impact on the socioeconomic development of individuals and societies and the prevention of avoidable visual disabilities in the long term in terms of attention to health care and social expenditures. Of all the organs of the body, the eye is more accessible to direct examination. The visual function can be evaluated by means of simple subjective tests. The same can be taken care of from an adequate primary care service.

Severe disability and its prevalence and causes in northwestern Ethiopia: evidence from Dabat district of Amhara National Regional State. A community based cross-sectional study

“…In other words, more than 83% of the reported immediate causes of impairments could have been prevented from causing functional limitations if they were identi ed and treated early (Table 6 and Figure 4). This argument is congruent to studies in other African and Latin American settings where families and persons with impairments are more likely to avoid early treatment (44), seek the services of traditional healers than modern medicine (40) or suffer from the inadequacy of primary health care services for screening and treatment (30). predictors of disability in the study population (Table 7).…”

“…could be treated early and prevented from causing serious damage to the body organism thereby reducing the severity impairment and/or enabling functionality. This scenario is not unique to Ethiopia as, for instance, a study on nine Latin American countries categorized 80% of visual impairments as avoidable with early detect and treatment [30]. Most disabilities and their causes can be linked to poverty, and restricted access to basic services.…”

Disability and its prevalence and cause in northwestern Ethiopia: evidence from Dabat district of Amhara National Regional State: A community based cross-sectional study

“…In other words, more than 83% of the reported immediate causes of impairments could have been prevented from causing functional limitations if they were identi ed and treated early ( Table 6 and Figure 4). This argument is congruent to studies in other African and Latin American settings where families and persons with impairments are more likely to avoid early treatment (44), seek the services of traditional healers than modern medicine (40) or suffer from the inadequacy of primary health care services for screening and treatment (30).…”

“…as well as accidents and injuries cause illnesses to many people that -if identi ed and treated early or on time -may not necessarily amount to serious functional and activity limitations. Similarly, a study on causes of visual disability in nine Latin American countries categorized 80% of the cases as avoidable with early detect and treatment [30]. Most disabilities and their causes can be linked to poverty, and restricted access to basic services.…”