A community-based cross-sectional study of eye care service utilization among the adult population in southern Ethiopia

Hailu Merga; Desalegn Amanuel; Lata Fekadu; Lamessa Dube

doi:10.1177/20503121231197865

A community-based cross-sectional study of eye care service utilization among the adult population in southern Ethiopia

SAGE Open Med. 2023 Sep 9:11:20503121231197865. doi: 10.1177/20503121231197865. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hailu Merga¹, Desalegn Amanuel², Lata Fekadu¹, Lamessa Dube¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
² Addis Ababa Health Bureau, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Background: Visual impairment, which is related to many eye diseases, is a major public health problem. If detected and treated early, it can be prevented; therefore, regular use of vision services is very important.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the proportion of utilization of eye care services and associated factors among the rural community population in southern Ethiopia.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design with a two-stage cluster random sampling technique was conducted to collect data from adults aged 40 years and above using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Kebeles were randomly selected by the lottery method, and systematic random sampling with proportional distribution was used to select the households. An adult individual was randomly selected from a household when there was more than one adult available. A binary logistic regression model was used to establish the association between eye care service utilization and the variables that might affect it.

Results: Of the 551 study population, 510 responded to this study, and the response rate was 92.6%. The mean age of the respondents was 52.2 years. The rate of eye care service utilization was 29% (95% confidence interval (0.25, 0.33)). The study shows that older participants, aged 65 and above (adjusted odds ratio: 4.04; 95% confidence interval (2.20, 7.43)), having previous eye problems (adjusted odds ratio: 10.04; 95% confidence interval (5.81, 17.33)), the presence of systemic illness (adjusted odds ratio: 2.52; 95% confidence interval (1.21, 5.21)), and having awareness about regular checkups (adjusted odds ratio: 11.75; 95% confidence interval (6.62, 20.84)) were found to be the predictors of eye care service utilization.

Conclusion: In this study, utilization of eye care services was low. Older age, previous eye problems, systemic illness, and awareness about checkups were found to be predictors of eye care service utilization. Hence, there is a need to increase the absorption of existing ophthalmic services and create awareness of the use of ophthalmology services to reduce preventive blindness.

Keywords: Cross-sectional; eye care; service utilization; southern Ethiopia.