Primary health care facility readiness to implement primary eye care in Nigeria: equipment, infrastructure, service delivery and health management information systems

Over two-thirds of Africans have no access to eye care services. To increase access, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends integrating eye care into primary health care, and the WHO Africa region recently developed a package for primary eye care. However, there are limited data on the capac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC health services research 2021-12, Vol.21 (1), p.1360-1360, Article 1360
Main Authors: Aghaji, Ada, Burchett, Helen E D, Oguego, Ngozi, Hameed, Shaffa, Gilbert, Clare
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambulatory Care Facilities
Blindness
Care and treatment
Cataracts
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diagnosis
Eye diseases
Feasibility
Health care
Health facilities
Health services
HMIS
Humans
Information management
Information systems
Infrastructure
Literature reviews
Management
Management Information Systems
Nigeria
Population
Primary care
Primary eye care
Primary Health Care
Rural areas
Service delivery
Services
Visual impairment
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Summary:Over two-thirds of Africans have no access to eye care services. To increase access, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends integrating eye care into primary health care, and the WHO Africa region recently developed a package for primary eye care. However, there are limited data on the capacities needed for delivery, to guide policymakers and implementers on the feasibility of integration. The overall purpose of this study was to assess the technical capacity of the health system at primary level to deliver the WHO primary eye care package. Findings with respect to service delivery, equipment and health management information systems (HMIS) are presented in this paper. This was a mixed-methods, cross sectional feasibility study in Anambra State, Nigeria. Methods included a desk review of relevant Nigerian policies; a survey of 48 primary health facilities in six districts randomly selected using two stage sampling, and semi-structured interviews with six supervisors and nine purposively selected facility heads. Quantitative study tools included observational checklists and questionnaires. Survey data were analysed descriptively using STATA V.15.1 (Statcorp, Texas). Differences between health centres and health posts were analysed using the z-test statistic. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis assisted by Open Code Software V.4.02. There are enabling national health policies for eye care, but no policy specifically for primary eye care. 85% of facilities had no medication for eye conditions and one in eight had no vitamin A in stock. Eyecare was available in
ISSN:1472-6963
1472-6963
DOI:10.1186/s12913-021-07359-3