Visual impairment (low vision and blindness) is a major health concern all over the world. Three main reasons for the high prevalence of visual impairment are non-availability, non-accessibility andnon-affordability of eye care services. However, there are several factors that may act as barriers to the use of available, accessible and affordable eye care services. These include the lack of knowledge of the services, lack of knowledge of the possible impact of an eye disease and lack of knowledge of who to consult for management of eye diseases. Also, demographic, personal, social and cultural factors may influence or act as barriers to eye care utilization. These various factors are reviewed in this article. Where there is poor utilization of available services, educational campaigns would lead to better understanding and promote greater utilization of eye care services. Early detection and management of eye diseases would reduce the burden of visual impairment and disability. Therefore, eye care providers and health care managers must have good knowledge of the various factors that would negatively influence utilization of eye care services and be responsive to them. (S Afr Optom 2010 69(4) 182-193)

Thechoice of an appropriate career, occupation or profession is one of the most important decisions hat one makes in life and there are many factors which may influence such a decision. The purpose of this study was to establish the factors which influenced students currently studying optometry in South African institutions in deciding on the course of study and choice of institution. Data was collected with a questionnaire on demographics of the students and the factors that might have influenced their choice of optometry as a career and their institution of learning. Data was analysed with descriptive and cross-tabulation statistics. Three hundred and eighty seven students responded to the questionnaire (80.1% response rate). Their ages ranged from 17 to 40 years with a mean of 20.73 ± 2.46 years and included 30.5% males and 69.5% females. They were from the University of Free State 25.1%), University of Johannesburg (29.5%), University of KwaZulu-Natal (29.7%) and the University of Limpopo(15.7%). There were 38% Whites, 36.7% Blacks, 22.2% Indians and 3.1% Coloureds. The highest rated factors which influenced their choice of optometry were the desire to help other people (92.8%), job availability after graduation (92%), subjects passed and points obtained in the matric year (91.2%) and the potential to earn a good salary (88.6%), respectively. Few rated news and other media (20.9%) as an important factor in their decision to choose their current institution of learning while 29.5% reported that failure to gain admission to study other degrees was an important factor. These results may be useful to institutions offering optometry degrees to formulate effective recruitment strategies to attract quality students. Also, they may be useful to career counsellors in counselling prospective students on their career choice and institution of learning. (S Afr Optom 2011 70(1) 21-28)

BackgroundKnowledge of the prevalence and causes of visual impairment (VI) amongst hospital patients is useful in planning preventive programmes and provision of eye-care services for residents in the surrounding communities.AimThe aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and causes of VI amongst eye clinic patients at Nkhensani Hospital. The relationship between VI and age was also investigated.SettingNkhensani Hospital in the Greater Giyani subdistrict municipality, Mopani district, Limpopo Province, South Africa.MethodsFour hundred participants aged 6–92 years were selected for the study using a convenient sampling method. Presenting and best corrected visual acuities (VA) were measured with a LogMAR E chart. Presenting VA (PVA) in the right and left eyes and in the better eye of the patients was used to determine the prevalence of VI, low vision (LV) and blindness. Ophthalmoscope was used to diagnose the eye conditions causing VI amongst participants.ResultsThe prevalence of VI based on the PVA in the right eye was 34.8% and in the left eye, the prevalence was 35.8%. There was a significant association between age of the participants and VI in the right and left eyes (p = 0.00) in each case, respectively. Based on the vision in the better eye of each patient, the prevalence of VI was 28.0% and there was a significant association between VI and age of the participants (p = 0.00). The main causes of VI were uncorrected refractive errors, cataract and glaucoma.ConclusionFindings in this study indicate that a large proportion of VI is preventable. Focusing on refractive error correction and surgical intervention for cataract would significantly reduce the burden of VI amongst patients utilising this hospital.

The mean values of amplitude of accommodation in this study are different from those reported in the literature. Also, the measured values differed from the calculated values using Hofstetter's equation. This suggests that the use of Hosftetter's equations to predict amplitude of accommodation may not be accurate for Nigerian children.