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.
The use of social media (SM) in medical specialties has not been well studied in Nigeria. Thus, this study compared utilisation of social media between Ophthalmologists-in-training and trainees in other medical specialties. Methods: Semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on SM use from the participants. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-squared and t-test) were used to analyse the data. Results: Almost all the respondents had at least one active social media account. WhatsApp and Facebook were the preferred SM platforms among the respondents. Ophthalmologists-in-training usually used SM to access academic resources (77.8%) while other trainees used SM to share information on difficult clinical cases (80.2%). Both groups found WhatsApp and YouTube very useful in their practice. Impediments to realizing the potentials of SM in medical practice included poor internet services (85.5%), poor electricity supply (55.4%), privacy and ethical issues (36.2%). Conclusion: Most resident doctors in Nigeria are actively using SM for social interactions, professional development and academic pursuits. Its full potentials in medical practice are yet to be utilized. Resolution of crisis in the power sector in Nigeria and provision of internet services in tertiary hospitals in Nigeria would enhance the realization of full benefits of SM in healthcare delivery.
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