Background The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown obligated higher education students to attend online courses, leading to prolonged exposure to digital displays. Excessive time on digital devices could be a risk factor for ocular problems, including symptomatic dry eye. There are limited evidences to show the magnitude of symptomatic dry eye disease and its associated factors during COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to fill this gap, among university students in Trinidad and Tobago. Methods An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students attending the University of West Indies, Saint Augustine Campus from October 2020 to April 2021. The standardized ocular surface disease index questionnaire, descriptive statics and binary logistic regression were used to assess the prevalence and associated factors of dry eye diseases. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Results Four hundred (96.3%) participants completed the questionnaire. Among all, 64.8% were female and 50.5% were east Indians. About 48% were using visual display units for average of 10–15 hours/day. The prevalence of symptomatic dry eye disease was 84.3% (95% CI = 80.8–87.5%) with OSDI score ≥13. Lack of education about dry eye 2.69 (95% CI: 1.41–5.13), use of the reading mode of computer 3.92 (95% CI: 1.57–9.80), refractive error 3.20 (95% CI: 1.66–6.20), previous systemic medications 2.80 (95% CI: 1.15–6.81), and average hours of visual display unit use/day (p<0.001) were significantly associated with symptomatic dry eye disease. Conclusion Symptomatic dry eye disease was a prominent problem among students at the University of West Indies. Average of >4 hours of visual display unit use/day, refractive error, positive history of systemic medication, lack of education about dry eye, and using computers in reading mode were associated factors.

Background Symptomatic dry eye disease is a growing public health challenge especially among those who are visual display unit (VDU) users and other long-time near activity workers. Globally, computer user adults experience a surge in the prevalence of dry eye. Data is insufficient on the prevalence of dry eye disease among postgraduate students in Ethiopia. Therefore, the present was aimed to assess the prevalence of dry eye and its associated factors among postgraduate students at the University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 423 postgraduate students who were selected based on a simple random sampling technique. Data was collected through online symptom-based ocular surface disease index questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was used to test the association and p-value of <0.05 was considered to determine the significance of the association. Results From the total postgraduate students, 404 completed the study with a response rate of 95.5%. The prevalence of symptomatic dry eye disease was 50.5% (95% CI, 45.1%-54.9%). Average continuous visual display unit use for 2-4hours per day[AOR = 2.57 (95% CI, 1.27–5.21)] and for> 4hours per day[AOR = 3.77 (95% CI 1.87–7.59)], duration of visual display unit use for 3–5 years [AOR = 2.24 (95% CI, 1.17–4.31)], 6–8 years [AOR = 2.46 (95% CI,1.31–4.62)] and > 8 years [AOR = 3.25 (95% CI, 1.63–6.48)], average sleeping hour < 7 hours/day within last week [AOR = 2.17 (95% CI, 1.35–3.49)] and current known allergic conjunctivitis [AOR = 5.42 (95% CI, 2.43–12.10)] were significantly associated with symptomatic dry eye disease. Conclusion and recommendation In this study, about half of postgraduate students faced symptomatic dry eye disease. Significant association was observed between symptomatic dry eye disease and average continuous hours of visual display unit use, duration of visual display unit use in years, shortage of sleep and current known allergic conjunctivitis. It is advisable for postgraduate students to limit screen exposure hour and establish regular breaking time along their exposure. It is also advisable to have optimum sleep as possible. It is also important to explore dry eye disease on a large sample incorporating clinical tests.

BACKGROUND: Falls account for vast majority of fractures and are a significant reason for trauma related hospital admissions. The main aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of selfreported fall, related injuries, and associated factors among adult patients with visual impairment.METHODS: Hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July to August 2021. Systematic random sampling technique was used. The data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and exported to SPPS version 26 for analysis. Frequency, mean, and percentage, were used to summarize the descriptive data. The association between the outcome variable and explanatory variables was assessed using binary and multivariate logistic regressions. The adjusted odds ratio was calculated, and variables with a p-value below 0.05 at the 95% confidence interval (CI) were considered statistically significant.RESULT: A total of 487 study participants were involved in this study with a response rate of 93.83%. The mean age of the study participants was 52 ± 16.26 years. The overall prevalence of selfreported fall was 36.1 %. Being female, being older than 64 years of age, rural residence, fear of falling, and blind stage of visual impairment were significantly associated with falling.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of self-reported fall was high among visually impaired individuals. Female sex, age more than 64 years, rural residence, fear of falling, and blind stage of visual impairment were significantly associated with falling. Reducing patients' chances of suffering from falling-related injuries and consequences requires raising awareness about the burden, danger, and effects of falling on persons who are visually impaired.