Aim: This preliminary (pilot) study was to elucidate the demographic characteristics and pattern of Ophthalmic Disorders at a Community Eye Outreach in a Semi-Urban Area of Rivers State, Nigeria and its implications for eye care planning and budgeting. 

Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done. Participants at a one-day free eye camp at Rumuapu community had a comprehensive ophthalmic examination involving visual acuity, ocular examination of the anterior and posterior segment, tonometry and refraction. The data generated was subsequently analyzed using SPSS version 20.

Results: 104 subjects were seen with a mean age of 38.3 ± 16.6 years. 71.2% of the participants were female while 28.8% were male. 30.8% were in the 41 - 50years age group, 80% of the participants had normal distant vision but 77.9% were presbyopic. The most common cause of ocular morbidity was refractive error closely followed by allergic conjunctivitis. 

Conclusion: The commonest Ophthalmic disorder in our study was refractive error which occurred with a mean age of 36.2 years, followed by allergic conjunctivitis. More females than males attended the free eye screening activities and the prevalence of visual impairment was 22%.

Keywords: Ocular Disorders; Semi-Urban; Eye Care; Planning and Budgeting

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Citation

Citation: Ireju Onyinye Chukwuka and Elizabeth Akon Awoyesuku. “Pattern of Ocular Disorders in A Semi-Urban Community in Rivers State, Nigeria. --Implications for Eye Care Planning and Budgeting”. Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 3.3 (2020): 35-39.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Ireju Onyinye Chukwuka and Elizabeth Akon Awoyesuku. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.