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A systemic review of barriers to accessing paediatric eye care services in African countries
1Department of Optometry, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Childhood visual impairment affects millions globally, particularly in developing nations. Key barriers to pediatric eye care in Africa include cost, access, and availability, necessitating stakeholder intervention.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Public Health
- Global Health
Background:
- Childhood visual impairment is a significant global public health issue, with an estimated 1.4 million affected children, predominantly in developing countries.
- Rural areas in developing nations face particular challenges regarding childhood blindness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the barriers encountered in accessing pediatric eye care services within African countries.
- Identify and analyze factors hindering the utilization of essential eye health services for children in Africa.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted across major online databases (PubMed, Web of Sciences, Scopus, etc.) for studies published between January 2000 and April 2020.
- Included studies focused on assessing barriers to pediatric eye care in Africa, considering availability, accessibility, affordability, and socio-cultural factors.
Main Results:
- Twenty-nine publications from 10 African countries were identified, highlighting non-availability, non-accessibility, and non-affordability as primary barriers.
- Other significant factors impacting service utilization include primary healthcare system weaknesses, geographical challenges, parental health beliefs, knowledge gaps, and socio-economic status.
Conclusions:
- Affordability, accessibility, and availability are the principal obstacles to pediatric eye care in Africa.
- Addressing these barriers requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders to improve child eye care outcomes across African nations.
Background:
Global estimate reported that 1.4 million children are blind of which three-quarters live in developing countries. Childhood Visual Impairment is a major public health problem globally especially in rural areas of developing countries.
Objective:
To review barriers to accessing paediatric eye care services in African countries.
Methods:
The studies in this review were searched in online databases (PubMed, Web of Sciences, ProQuest, Scopus, Google Scholar, African Index Medicus and Medline) for studies published between January 2000 and April 2020. The articles included in this review, which was conducted in Africa to assess the barriers for accessing paediatric eye care services with regards availability, accessibility, affordability, socio cultural barriers of parents/caregivers and community.
Results:
Of 22 705 articles screened, the study found 29 publications from 10 African countries which met the inclusion criteria. The main barriers were non-availability, non-accessibility, and non-affordability of paediatric eye care services. The studies reviewed revealed that there are other factors affecting the utilization of paediatric eye services which include the primary health system, geographic barriers, health beliefs, perception of parents; lack of knowledge, attitudes and practices about paediatric eye care. Furthermore, environmental, demographic barriers and socio-economic status has negative impact on accessing paediatric eye care services in African counties.
Conclusion:
The main barriers to accessing paediatric eye care services in Africa were affordability, accessibility and availability. There is therefore a need for all relevant stakeholders to play a significant role in addressing barriers to child eye care in African countries.
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