Abstract
Purpose :
Population-based screening programs for ocular diseases are crucial to identify persons in the higer risk of developing sight-threatening conditions. On other respect, poor socio-economic development of a community imposes an important obstacle for having acces to specialized medical services. The aim of this study is to evaluate an itinerant eye disease screening program aproaching low income areas in western México.
Methods :
An itinerart multidisciplinary task force (nurses, social workers, optometrist and ophthalmologist) trained for screening major ocular diseases participated in a social program conducted by different regional government agencies in the state of Jalisco ( western Mexico). several areas kknow to reside low-income population were previously identified, An anticipated preparation work with community leaders permitted to locate a facility where participants were assessed. A structured set of questionaries and clinical manuevers permitted to recognize persons with ocular conditions that required further testing and /or treatment. A concise written communication was given to each participant to inform either normal or abnormal results giving proper advise.
Results :
The Task forcevisited nine urban areas where 891 ppersons (641 female, 72%) with a mean age of 64.4±18.7 years were clinically screened. Most common co-morbidities were systemic hypertension (32.6%) and diabetes mellitus (20.2%). More relevant ocular history were family history of glaucoma (11.4%), ocular trauma (10.8%), and eye surgery (7.9%). Prevalence of bilateral blindness and bilateral low vision were 3.7% and 4.3%, respectively (mostly caused by cataract, glaucoma, and diabetic retinophaty was 5.2%, 3.3% and 2.7%, respectuvely. Participants older than 60 years had a significantly greater risk of impaired vision as compared to the younger ones (P= 0.034, C2)
Conclusions :
A well trained itinerant task force performed well identifying ocular conditions in underprilvileged communities of western Mexico. Although a self-selection bias may have an effect of the figures of our study, a sustanied program for eye disease detection can assist in improving visual healath among the poorest communities
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.