Evaluation of community eye outreach programs for early glaucoma detection in Nigeria

Abstract

Olusola Olawoye,1 Olufunmilayo I Fawole,2 Christopher C Teng,3–5 Robert Ritch4,5 1Department of Ophthalmology, University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria and College of Medicine University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria; 2Department of Epidemiology, Medical Statistics and Environmental Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; 3Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; 4Einhorn Clinical Research Center, The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, New York, NY, USA; 5New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA Purpose: To evaluate the relevance of community eye outreach programs in the early detection of glaucoma patients in southwest Nigeria. Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study that was conducted among glaucoma patients referred to the eye clinic of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria, between January 2009 and December 2010 from different sources, including community eye outreach programs. The source of referral, stage of glaucoma, and visual field were recorded. Results: Six hundred and fifty-three patients were studied during this period. The mean age was 56.3 years ± 16.6 years, with a median age of 60 years. Patients referred from eye outreach programs were more likely to have mild to moderate disease than patients referred from other sources, who were more likely to have severe disease according to both the optic nerve head assessment (P < 0.01, Pearson's Chi-square = 10.67, odds ratio = 1.7 [confidence interval = 1.23–2.31]) and visual field assessment (24-2) (P < 0.01, Pearson's Chi-square = 6.07, odds ratio = 1.5 [confidence interval = 1.08–2.03]). Conclusion: Community eye outreach programs appear highly useful in the earlier detection of glaucoma in sub-Saharan Africa. Keywords: community eye outreach, early glaucoma detection, Nigeria glaucoma detection, glaucoma awareness, sub-Saharan Africa.