How Far Would You Travel to Consult a Rural Ugandan Eye Specialist?

Aims: Blindness and visual impairment are major public health concerns. However there is only 1 ophthalmologist per million individuals in Africa. Hence, individuals must travel long distances to see an eye specialist leading to reduced uptake of eye care services. The aims were to review patients’ demographics and geographical distribution, and conditions diagnosed at a rural eye clinic in Uganda. Methods: The ophthalmic clinical officer made handwritten records of attendees at the once-weekly morning clinic over a 14-week period. Data, including demographics, town of residence and diagnoses, were collated and analyzed. Results: During the study period, 273 participants attended the clinic (96 males, 177 females). On average, 19.5 patients were seen in the clinic per week. Patient ages’ ranged from 3 days to 89 years old (mean age=32.5 y). The commonest diagnoses were allergic conjunctivitis (9.9%), bacterial conjunctivitis (9.2%), pterygium (8.8%), presbyopia (8.8%), and blunt trauma (5.9%). Patients lived an average distance of 25.1 km from the clinic, with 23.0% living >30 km away. Conclusion: The wide geographical distribution of attendees at the Ugandan eye clinic supports earlier research that these clinics are sparsely distributed requiring individuals to travel long distances to seek eye care services.