BackgroundThere is currently limited information as to which conditions are most prevalent in communities in developing countries. This makes effective planning of eye services difficult.Methods3,899 eligible individuals were recruited and examined in a cross-sectional survey in Asa Local Government Area, Nigeria. Those who self-reported an ocular morbidity were also asked about their health-seeking behaviour. Health records of local facilities were reviewed to collect information on those presenting with ocular morbidities.Results25.2% (95% CI: 22.0–28.6) had an ocular morbidity in at least one eye. Leading causes were presbyopia and conditions affecting the lens and conjunctiva. The odds of having an ocular morbidity increased with age and lower educational attainment. 10.1% (7.7–13.0) self-reported ocular morbidity; 48.6% (40.4–56.8) of them reported seeking treatment. At the facility level, 344 patients presented with an ocular morbidity over one month, the most common conditions were red (26.3%) or itchy (20.8%) eyes.ConclusionOcular morbidities, including many non vision impairing conditions, were prevalent with a quarter of the population affected. The delivery of eye care services needs to be tailored in order to address this need and ensure delivery in a cost-effective and sustainable manner.

Our study respondents regarded research highly but were severely constrained in conducting research by lack of access to sources of funding from within and outside Nigeria and finding time from core hospital functions. We recommend periodic (re)training in research particularly on how to apply for research grants and giving some protected research time for Nigerian medical specialists in order to boost their research function.

Objectives: Although depression is one of the more common illnesses in outpatients' clinic, it is often overlooked. Besides accurate identification and treatment is challenging. As pertinent as demographic factors are in explaining the variability of depressive symptoms, there is paucity of data in Nigeria in particular, and West Africa in general, hence the need to bring into lime light the association between depression symptoms and socio-demographic factors in a General Outpatients Clinic in Nigeria, West Africa. Methods: Following institutional ethics committee approval, four hundred newly registered patients who attended the General Out Patients Department (GOPD) of Kwara State Specialist Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria, were selected by systematic random sampling and studied. The Patients Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) specifically developed for use in primary care with acceptable reliability, validity, sensitively was used. Association between each socio-demographic factor and depression was sought. Results: One hundred and seventy eight (44.5%) out of the four hundred respondents were found to have one form of depression or the other. There was minimal depression in 119 (29.8%), mild in 54 (13.4%), moderate in 2 (0.5%), and severe in 3 (0.8%). There was strong statistical association between depression and age group, sex, marital status, level of education, occupation and monthly income, p-values 0.008, 0.000, 0.000, 0.003, 0.000, 0.001 respectively. However, religion (p = 0.541) and ethnicity (p = 0.567) were of no statistical importance. Conclusion: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among patients attending family practice clinics was high. There was also strong association between depression and socio-demographic factor. Family physician should have high index of suspicion to patients with vague somatic complaints and the aforementioned socio-demographic factors. Early detection of depression can be enhanced by screening patients for this disorder, when they attend the hospital for other reasons.

Purpose:To estimate the burden of blindness and visual impairment due to cataract in Egbedore Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria.Materials and Methods:Twenty clusters of 60 individuals who were 50 years or older were selected by systematic random sampling from the entire community. A total of 1,183 persons were examined.Results:The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of bilateral cataract-related blindness (visual acuity (VA) < 3/60) in people of 50 years and older was 2.0% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6–2.4%). The Cataract Surgical Coverage (CSC) (persons) was 12.1% and Couching Coverage (persons) was 11.8%. The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of bilateral operable cataract (VA < 6/60) in people of 50 years and older was 2.7% (95% CI: 2.3–3.1%). In this last group, the cataract intervention (surgery + couching) coverage was 22.2%. The proportion of patients who could not attain 6/60 vision after surgery were 12.5, 87.5, and 92.9%, respectively, for patients who underwent intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, cataract surgery without IOL implantation and those who underwent couching. “Lack of awareness” (30.4%), “no need for surgery” (17.6%), cost (14.6%), fear (10.2%), “waiting for cataract to mature” (8.8%), AND “surgical services not available” (5.8%) were reasons why individuals with operable cataract did not undergo cataract surgery.Conclusions:Over 600 operable cataracts exist in this region of Nigeria. There is an urgent need for an effective, affordable, and accessible cataract outreach program. Sustained efforts have to be made to increase the number of IOL surgeries, by making IOL surgery available locally at an affordable cost, if not completely free.

Background:People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) continue to face persistent and deep rooted social barriers. Incidentally, studies in social determinants of depression are very limited, necessitating this study, which examined social determinants of depression and the impact of these determinants on depression.Methods:This was a hospital based, cross sectional descriptive study of three hundred adult HIV/AIDS patients, attending the HIV clinic of Kwara State Specialist Hospital, Sobi, Ilorin, Nigeria. Depressive symptoms were measured by the PHQ-9 rating scale. Three variables of social determinants of depression: socio-economic status (years of school and self-reported economic status of family), social cohesion, and negative life events were examined.Results:The self-reported economic status of the family varied from good 35(11.7%), average 162(54%), and poor among 103(34.3%) of the respondents. Social cohesion was low in 199(66.3%), fair in 65(21.7%) and high among 36(12%) of the respondents. There was significant association between social cohesion, negative life events, and depression.Conclusion and Global Health Implications:Income was the most significant socio-economic determinant. Majority had very low social cohesion and more negative life events, while those with below average years of schooling were more depressed. These are statistically significant. Social determinants of depression should be given a lot of emphasis, when addressing the issue of depression, if we are to meaningfully tackle this increasing scourge in our society.