Knowledge and Practice of Primary Eye Care Among Primary Healthcare Workers in Bungoma County

Abstract

Introduction: Primary eye care is an important part of primary health care designed to mitigate eye problems in the community. In Kenya, there is little evaluation of the knowledge and practice of the primary eye care providers in primary health care facilities. Study objective: To assess knowledge and practice of primary eye care among primary healthcare workers in Bungoma County. Study methods: Study design: A cross-sectional design was adopted. The study population: The study population was primary healthcare workers working in health centers and dispensaries in Bungoma County.Sample size and the sampling procedure: The sample size was determined using Fischer’s formula. Simple random sampling technique was adopted in selecting the health facilities andall eligible and consenting participants were interviewed. Data collection: A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data analysis and presentation: Filled questionnaires were collected, cleaned, coded, and entered into SPSS version 24.0 for analysis. Results were presented in the form of charts, graphs, tables, and narrative texts. Ethical considerations: Ethical considerations were observed relating to confidentiality, anonymity, voluntary participation, and appropriate approvals. Results:A total of 91 PHCWS were enrolled in the study with nurses being 79.1% and clinical officers 20.9%. More than half of the participants (61.5%)indicated that there was no visual acuity chart in their facility and this was compounded by the fact that 65.9%of the participants could not correctly describe how to measure visual acuity.Having trained on PEC in the curriculum and having a VA chart in the facility had a significant influence on the knowledge to measure VA. Knowledge of identification of trauma, white reflex, squint, cataract, ophthalmia neonatorum, and conjunctivitis was good asthe majority (>60%) of the participantsrightly identified them. However, knowledge of the identification of presbyopia waspoor as only 12.1% of them were right. A larger proportion of the participants hadgood practice in the management of white reflex 91.2 %, squint 76.9 %, cataract 95.6 %, presbyopia 87.9 %, conjunctivitis 75.8 %, and trauma to the eye 60.4 %. However, practice in themanagement ofophthalmia neonatorum was poor as only4.4% of PHCWS knew the correct management. Conclusion and recommendation: It was concluded that most PHCWS from Bungoma County had good knowledge and practice of PEC.However, gaps in the same were noted. Based on that, awareness creation on various aspects of PEC including visual acuity assessment, identification, and management of early eye conditions is recommended