Ocular injuries and eye care seeking patterns following injuries among cocoa farmers in Ghana

Abstract

Background: The work environment of cocoa farmers exposes them to several ocular hazards that predispose them to eye diseases and injuries. However, the extent of ocular injuries and health seeking patterns following these injuries are unknown among cocoa farmers in Ghana. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of ocular injuries and health seeking behaviour following injury among cocoa farmers in Ghana. Methods: Five hundred and fifty six participants were recruited through simple random sampling using a multistage approach from four cocoa growing districts in Ghana. A structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant information such as demography, ocular hazards and injuries experienced. An ocular examination was also conducted to assess the eye health of the participants. Descriptive and regression statistics were used to analyze the data. The rate of ocular injuries was calculated by using the number of injuries reported that resulted in lost work time/days divided by the number of worker years at risk of injury (sum of years worked in cocoa farms for all the participants). Results: The rate of ocular injuries was 11.3/1000 worker years (95% CI: 9.4 -31) which led to lost work time of 37.3/1000 worker years (95% CI: 34.1 -40.8). The major causes of ocular injury were plants/branches (n=73, 51.1%), chemicals (n=27, 18.9%), cocoa pod/husk (n=14, 9.8%) and occurred mostly during weeding, harvesting and chemical spraying. Few (n=34, 6.1%) participants reported the use of ocular protection. Fifty-five (38.5%) participants visited the local chemical shops, while 37 (25.9%) visited hospitals/clinics for ocular treatment of their injuries. Conclusion: There is a high rate of ocular injuries among cocoa farmers who make insufficient use of appropriate eye care services. There is the need for eye health education among cocoa farmers in Ghana.

Types of ocular injury and their antecedent factors: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…The 12 studies reported mean CASP grades within the range of 6.50 to 10.0 with a mean score of 7.87 (SD = 1.17). The studies covered the geographic regions of Oceania, Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, and North America (eg, one from Australia, 7 England, 18 Finland, 6 Ghana, 19 India, 8 and eight from the United States 5,11,14,20‐24 ). Six of the studies used secondary data analysis of administrative databases, 6,7,11,18,20,23 two employed a cross‐sectional design, 14,19 two used a prospective design, 8,21 one used a case‐controlled design 24 and one was a retrospective view 5 …”

“…The systematic review identified the following antecedent factors of occupational ocular injury: (a) the use of eye protection at the time of the ocular injury, 6,7,11,18‐20,23 (b) being male, 5‐7,11,14,18‐20,23 (c) exposure to biological or chemical occupational hazards, 7,14,19 (d) mechanical forces, 5,6,8,21 (e) risk‐taking behavior 11,18,19 …”

“…Moreover, those who did not use eye protection at the time of their injury were more likely to use eye protection in the future. Two studies from the agriculture sector identified chemical hazards (eg, exposure to pesticides) as a common cause of ocular injuries among coffee farmers, with the majority of injuries (99.3%) occurring when not wearing eye protection 14,19 …”

Eye injuries caused by date palm thorns and leaves

“…Agricultural eye injuries have been studied with various crops such as citrus,[ 8 ] olive[ 9 ] and cocca. [ 10 ] Nevertheless, date palm tree eye injuries have not been studied in detail except for few case reports. [ 11 12 13 14 ] We aim to study the clinical presentation, management and clinical outcome of hospitalized date palm tree eye injuries.…”

Editorial: Updates on communicable and non-communicable diseases in LMICs

“…31 Shehab reports on biochemical response to weight loss in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. 32 Now to surgery: abdominal wall herniae in females, 33 ocular injuries and eye care among cocoa farmers in Ghana; 34 and acute burns of the hands, 35 give us a taste of surgery in Africa. So do: stapedotomy and its effect on hearing.…”