Abstract:
Background:
It is well known that tarsatomy has great contribution in preventing blindness caused by
trichiasis. But there is low uptake of surgery in many endemic countries. Many
researches have been undertaken to find out what social and economical factors are
involved for low utilization of the surgery. This study aims to find out the
Sociodemographic characteristics of patients who got trichiasis surgery in ophthalmology
department of Jimma University Specialized Hospital.
Objective:
To assess the sex, age and location characteristics of trichiasis surgery users in
Ophthalmology Department of JUSH.
Method:
All patients who underwent trichiasis surgery from January 2010 to December 2012 were
included in the study. Pertinent data required about these patients were collected from the
patient's register book kept by the ophthalmology department of JUSH. The data was
analyzed manually and by scientific calculator and presented by tables.
Result:
A total of 1,176 patients, who had trachomatous trichiasis surgery in Ophthalmology
Department of JUSH, were incorporated in the study. Majority were 803 (68.3%) were
females. About 56% of total patients are in the age of 30-60 years. Of the total patients
23 (2%) of the patients were under 15 years of age. Greater part of patients was within 20
km radius constituting 53% of the total. Generally there is a gradual decrease of
attendance number as the distance of their location from the hospital increases.II
Conclusion and Recommendation:
The majority of patients that were using the service were females. This finding is in stark
contrast with other studies done in other parts of the country, which showed high
proportion of male users compared with females. This might reflect increased awareness
on the part of women and existence of gender equity. But the real reason for higher
utilization of females in this area should further be investigated through another
community based study. It has been shown that when patients are close to the service the
surgical uptake increases. Thus taking the service close to the community should be
considered to achieve the goal of SAFE. This creates opportunity to elderly (>60 years of
age) who are unable to travel long distances and always requires the assistance of
someone else.
