Assessment of Pattern, Distribution, and Determinants of Ocular Morbidity among Residents Seeking Care at Medical Camps in Mathare Slums, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Ocular morbidities are considered a major contributor of disabling conditions in both low and high resourced countries. The overall global burden of eye diseases is estimated at 61.4 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) which accounts for 4% of total Disability Adjusted Life Years. There have been strong institutional collaborations on attaining Vision 2020-right to sight, which is a global initiative aimed at reducing preventable level of blindness has enhanced institutional collaboration in fight against blindness. Some eye problems that affects people quality of life but do not result in blindness have been ignored in favor of those causing visual impairment. The residents of Mathare slums in Nairobi County, Kenya, seeking care at medical camps, were subjected to an objective eye examination aimed at ascertaining ocular morbidity patterns, causes, and distribution. A descriptive community-based cross-sectional study design was employed. The study persons were patients over ten years who presented with eye-related constraints at the medical camps. The period of study range was between October and November 2022. Results were displayed using descriptions and visualization techniques after data was imported into Excel 2010 for analysis. Results on the pattern indicated a majority of respondents (34.44%) were diagnosed with conjunctiva diseases. This was followed by 30.29% being diagnosed with refractive errors, 11.62% with the cornea, and 8.30% with lens diseases. On distribution, Conjunctiva disease (34.44%) affected most of the respondents, and the majority of these respondents (19.5%) aged between 10 and 20 years affirmed to have atopic Conjunctivitis. A refractive error also commonly affected 30.29% of the participants, with Presbyopia (7.46%) comprising the highest form of refractive error. Cataracts (7.05%) and dry eye syndrome (6.22%) were more evident among patients aged above 40 years. Most of the respondents (43.5%) were found to have pathologies resulting from developmental causes, followed by allergies (24.1%) and refraction errors (10.4%). Hypertension was the most common comorbidity in Mathare slum affecting 12.4% of the respondents; this was followed by peptic ulcer disease (5.4%), diabetes (4.6%), arthritis (2.5%), and lastly, HIV (0.41%). Results showed that ocular Morbidity in the Mathare slum was not associated with determinants like house structure material, number of house rooms, household population, and cooking energy source. It is recommended that health institutions within the Mathare slum and similar contexts be fully equipped with essential eye medications and integrate eye health education in the health facilities. Physical exercise, healthy eating, and medical approved supplements are also recommended to help prevent metabolic disorders and improve age-related eye disorders. Clinical control of existing comorbidities will aid in reducing some eye diseases like cataracts and diabetic retinopathy.