Suchergebnisse

Health education is key in the prevention of Ophthalmia Neonatorum (ON). However, health education in relation to eye care in Ghana is very low. To determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) of mothers on Ophthalmia Neonatorum (eye infection in newborns), a descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted, using a standardised interviewer-administered questionnaire to collect data. Using a consecutive sampling technique, we enrolled 407 mothers to participate in the study. The overall KAPs of the study participants were assessed using the sum score of each outcome based on Bloom's cut-off point. Completed data was then analysed using descriptive statistics with SPSS version 22.0 at the level of P < .05. Out of the 407 participants, 321 (78.9%) had not heard about Ophthalmia Neonatorum with nearly 93% having low levels of knowledge on the neonatal infection. We found a significant association between formal education ( P = .001), skilled occupation ( P = .008) and a high level of knowledge on Ophthalmia Neonatorum. The study highlights the need to find improved and alternative methods of educating mothers on Ophthalmia Neonatorum in the bid to reduce blindness attributed to the condition.

Introduction: In this study, the authors investigated visual impairment and its associated psychological factors, with emphasis on depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, and perceived social support. Methods: A mixed-method approach was used by integrating a focus group discussion and a cross-sectional survey. The study was conducted with 444 students comprising 218 students who are visually impaired and 226 sighted peers. Validated inventories for measuring the various psychological factors were used among students who are visually impaired and their sighted peers after which comparison of scores between visually impaired students and their sighted peers were made. Results: The findings of the study showed significantly lower depression and anxiety scores among students who are visually impaired. Students who are visually impaired also scored higher on total perceived social support than their sighted peers. Independent of age, visual impairment significantly predicted anxiety and perceived social support. Despite the results of the quantitative analysis, the focus group discussion revealed that students who are visually impaired face several challenges which make them depressed, anxious, and stressed. Discussion: Visual impairment was associated with and significantly predicted anxiety and perceived social support. Implication for Practitioners: The results of this study give a justification for eye care practitioners to consider referring people who are visually impaired for psychological assessment and possible management after addressing their visual needs.

Public transport is a viable option that can help persons with visual disability to overcome mobility challenges. The main aim of the review is to identify existing provisions, barriers, and/or access to public transport services for persons with visual disability. A scoping review was conducted based on the framework proposed by Arskey and O'Malley. A total of 16 studies were systematically selected out of 273 published literatures which was obtained from electronic database searches. Four themes emerged from the selected studies. The major theme was challenges related to accessing public transport from the perspective of persons with visual disability (PVD) with presentation of information, drivers/workers attitude, bus design, technological barriers, and accessibility of public spaces being the subthemes. The other three themes were the challenges reported by the transport drivers, available facilities/adaptations and resolutions, and policies and recommendations. In conclusion, the current review suggests that access to public transportation for persons with visual disability is considerably inadequate. Poor presentation of information, inappropriate driver attitude, and inconsistent bus design seem to be the major barriers persons with visual disability encounter during public transport travel.

Public transport plays an important role in improving mobility for persons with visual impairment. Commercial drivers are major stakeholders in ensuring that there are efficient and accessible public transport systems on university campuses that have a relatively high number of persons with visual impairment. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 90 taxi drivers who operate their services on the campus of a tertiary inclusion school. The drivers were surveyed on their knowledge and practices in providing services to persons with visual impairment. The findings show that 55 (61.1%) drivers knew how to identify a pedestrian with a visual disability by looking out for the white cane. A total of 77 (85.6%) drivers have also adopted the practice of stopping for pedestrians to cross the road. However, only 20 (22.5%) respondents agreed to reserve the front seat for the passenger with visual impairment. Participants were not knowledgeable on the sections of the disability act relating to the provision of transport services to persons with visual impairment nor the kind of punishment associated with breaching the rules. The study provides recommendations on how to bridge the gap between the demands of the disability act and the practices of commercial drivers.

Abstract
Purpose
To explore the epidemiology and demographic risk factors for myopia among a clinical sample.

Methods
In a hospital-based retrospective study, eligible subjects were grouped into either myopia or non-myopia. Demographic data, including age, sex, occupation, area of residence, region of residence, and ethnicity, were analysed. Other clinical information analysed included the degree of myopia and intervention provided for the myopia.

Results
Overall, the medical records of 15807 patients were retrieved between January 2015 and December 2019, with 50.9% being males. The mean ± SD age of the patients was 42.81 ± 18.99 years. A total of 44.4% of the patients were myopic. Age, type of ethnic group, occupation, and area of residence were associated with myopia. Demographic risk factors for myopia included occupations such as professionals (OR: 2.93; 95% CI 2.44–3.52), technicians and associated workers (OR: 6.71; 95% CI 5.15–8.74), service workers (OR: 11.74; 95% CI 9.62–14.33), skilled agriculture and fishery (OR: 1.88; 95% CI 1.41–2.50), craft workers (OR: 3.41; 95% CI 2.75–4.25), armed forces (OR: 10.26; 95% CI 7.54–13.97), students (OR: 3.49; 95% CI 2.76–4.42), the unemployed (OR: 6.64; 95% CI 5.44–8.11), as well as Ewe (OR: 1.46; 95% CI 1.17–1.82) and Ga-Adangbe (OR: 1.28; 95% CI 1.05–1.54) ethnicities.

Conclusion
Ewe and Ga-Adangbe ethnicities, and specific occupations are risk factors for myopia.

Reading with a magnifier is relatively slow for persons with moderate to severe visual impairment (MSVI). This study sought to investigate the effect of the page and text modifications such as page length reduction and introduction of guidelines in between sentences known to significantly improve the reading rate of persons with normal vision on the reading rate of persons with MSVI who use an optical aid for reading. A quasi-experimental study design was used to determine text and page modifications on the reading rate of sighted persons and moderate to severe visually impaired eyes. Modifications made to the reading materials included reducing the length of sentences on the pages, introducing guidelines in between the sentences, and a combination of both reducing the page length and introducing guidelines between the sentences. The reading rate of participants was calculated based on the time taken to complete the various reading tasks. The tasks were grouped into spot and fluent reading tasks. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). There were 19 visually impaired participants representing 34% of the total population recruited for the study. For spot reading, MSVI group achieved a 10-point significant improvement in their reading rate when alternating-colored guidelines were combined with reduced page length. The modifications did not significantly improve the fluent reading rate of the MSVI group. For both spot and fluent reading, introducing guidelines and reducing sentence length potentially provide a way to improve the reading rate of the visually impaired people who use an optical aid for reading. The practical implications of these results should be investigated in people with MSVI who use different optical aids for reading.