The Gambia National Eye Health Survey 2019: survey protocol

Abstract

Two national surveys of vision impairment and blindness were undertaken in The Gambia in 1986 and 1996. These provided data for the inception of The Gambia’s National Eye Health Programme (NEHP) within the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. There have been important developments in the eye health services provided by the NEHP in the last 20 years. At the same time, the population has also undergone major demographic changes that may have led to substantial changes in the burden of eye disease. We conducted a National Eye Health Survey of vision impairment, blindness and its comorbidities in adults in The Gambia in 2019. We examined a nationally representative population-based sample of adults 35 years and above to permit direct comparison with the data available from the previous surveys. Alongside a comprehensive vision and eye examination, the survey provides nationally representative data on important comorbidities in this population: diabetes, hypertension, obesity, hearing impairment, disability and mental health. Secondly, it estimates access to assistive technologies and eye health services. Thirdly, it is powered to allow a five-year follow up cohort study to measure the incidence and progression of eye disease.

Exploring the Use of Washington Group Questions to Identify People with Clinical Impairments Who Need Services including Assistive Products: Results from Five Population-Based Surveys

“…This study uses data from five cross-sectional surveys undertaken in Cameroon, Chile, India, The Gambia and Turkey between 2013 and 2020 ( Table 1 ) [ 12 , 13 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Four were regional/district surveys (Cameroon, Chile, India and Turkey) and one was a national survey (The Gambia).…”

“…This secondary analysis study received approval from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Each survey received separate approval from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the relevant ethics committees in each study country [ 10 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 31 ]. Written (signed or fingerprinted) informed consent was obtained from all participants or their proxies.…”

Socioeconomic position and eye health outcomes: identifying inequality in rapid population-based surveys

“…A detailed summary of the 2019 Gambia National Eye Health Survey sampling and examination protocol is provided elsewhere. 21 Briefly, the 2013 National Census was used as a sampling frame to select a nationally representative sample of adults aged 35 years and older in clusters of 30 people. 23 A multi-stage, stratified, cluster random sampling with probability proportionate to size strategy was used.…”

Evaluating the inclusion of tympanometry in population-based surveys of hearing loss

“…Although the Rapid Assessment of Hearing Loss typically uses an age cut-off of 50 years, this survey used a younger cut-off point of 35 years to align with the aims of the eye health survey. The methodology of the full survey can be found in Hydara et al 17…”