Barriers to Accessing Eye Health Services in Suburban Communities in Nampula, Mozambique

Dulnério B. Sengo, Neves A. Marraca, Alcino M. Muaprato, Sofía García-Sanjuan, Pablo Caballero and Inmaculada López-Izquierdo
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Dulnério B. Sengo: Faculty of Health Sciences, Lúrio University, Nampula City 3100, Mozambique
Neves A. Marraca: Faculty of Health Sciences, Lúrio University, Nampula City 3100, Mozambique
Alcino M. Muaprato: Faculty of Health Sciences, Lúrio University, Nampula City 3100, Mozambique
Sofía García-Sanjuan: Department of Nursing, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
Pablo Caballero: Department of Community Nursing, Preventive Medicine and Public Health and History of Science, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
Inmaculada López-Izquierdo: Department of Physics of Condensed Matter, Optics Area, University of Seville, 41012 Seville, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Globally, an estimated 2.2 billion people are visually impaired (VI) or blind, and a large proportion (90%) of those affected live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where access to eye health services is limited. This study aimed to identify barriers to accessing eye health services and associated factors in suburban communities of Nampula. A cross-sectional community-based study was carried out on adults ≥18 years old. A total of 338 adults were randomly selected from three communities (Muthita, Piloto, and Nthotta). Individual interviews were carried out and socio-demographic data, eye symptoms, date of last eye examination, and barriers to access to eye health services were extracted. Among participants, 49.4% had eye symptoms and 41.7% did not have their eye examinations up to date. The most cited barriers were crowding in hospitals (40.7%), financial difficulties (30.0%), self-medication (20.5%), traditional treatment (17.8%), and buying eyeglasses on the street (11.6%). Barriers limited the service target to 33%. Lower levels of schooling and monthly family income and farmer occupation were statistically associated with the most barriers as risk factors. The use of eye health services was lower due to barriers to accessing eye services. More specific intervention plans and greater cooperation between sectors are needed to improve these indicators.

Keywords: eye health; barriers to access; eye health services; Mozambique (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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