Prevalence of non-vision-impairing conditions in a village in Chakwal district, Punjab, Pakistan.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of non-vision-impairing ocular conditions (NVIC) and estimate the number of primary eye care treatments per 1000 population per month.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study in a random sample of 1670 people was done to determine the load of NVIC in a village in Chakwal district.

RESULTS

The prevalence of NVIC was 30.6% (306 per 1000 population). NVIC with the exclusion of presbyopia accounted for 14.6%. The main NVIC were allergic conjunctivitis (3.7%), bacterial conjunctivitis (3.5%), pterygium/pinguicula (2.6%) and acute/chronic dacryocystitis (1%). The average Complaint Frequency (CF) per month/1000 population was 55, excluding complaints of near vision and watery eyes.

CONCLUSIONS

The foundation of a comprehensive district eye care strategy in the light of VISION 2020 - the Right to Sight - remains an effective primary eye care service whose elements are treatment of NVIC, detection and referral of cataracts and refractive errors, and promotion of eye health.