Background: Street sweeping is an increasing popular outdoor occupation in major cities of Nigeri... more Background: Street sweeping is an increasing popular outdoor occupation in major cities of Nigeria. These workers are chronically exposed to diverse occupational and environmental sources of ocular hazards, that they may not be aware of. This may impair their adoption and compliance with the requisite safety practices. This study was aimed at assessing levels of awareness, knowledge, and practice of ocular safety among street sweepers in Calabar, Southern Nigeria.Materials and Methods: The study was a cross sectional study among one hundred and fifteen (115) street sweepers in Calabar Urban Development Authority, Nigeria over a period of three months. A systematic random sampling method was used to select respondents eligible for the study and a pretested semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain data. Data obtained was analysed using statistical package for social sciences version 20 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.).Results: One hundred and fifteen (115) subjects were studied, with mean age of 41.8 ± 10.4 years, and female to male ratio of 1:0.03. Seventy percent had good knowledge of ocular health safety; while 68% were aware of the occupational hazards associated with the job. Less than a quarter (19%) of workers used personal protective devices (PPD). Only 1% of the total who used PPD wore protective goggles while at work.Conclusion: Good knowledge and a high level of awareness on ocular health safety was seen among street sweepers. However, there was poor utilization of personal protective devices especially protective goggles among the workers which will increase their risk to occupational hazards.Keywords: Ocular health safety, street sweepers, Calabar
Background:Occupational predisposition to dry eye disease is known. Simultaneous exposure to mult... more Background:Occupational predisposition to dry eye disease is known. Simultaneous exposure to multiple factors may pose more risk. Street sweepers are exposed to sunlight in addition to dust which all sweepers are exposed to. This study aims to assess the prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) amongst Street sweepers and Office cleaners in Calabar metropolis.Methods:A cross sectional study was conducted among street sweepers and office cleaners. A systematic random sampling and multi-stage sampling method was used to select street sweepers (n=115) and office cleaners (n=115) respectively for the study. A pretested semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain information after which the respondents had an ophthalmic examination. An assessment of DED was done with Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, Schirmer’s test and tear break up time (TBUT).Results:Majority of respondents were females 215(93.5%) compared to males 15 (6.5%). The overall mean ...
Trachoma has justifiably attracted an incredibly large amount of research interest and literature... more Trachoma has justifiably attracted an incredibly large amount of research interest and literature over the last several decades. Perhaps, the area which is least explored is the social aspect of the disease. Most of the major constraints to trachoma control on the global scale appear to be concerned with this aspect of the disease. Recently, a study was conducted in The Gambia with the aim of highlighting the socio-cultural determinants of trachoma. We applied qualitative methods of Focus Group Discussion and Semi-structured interview to explore the local people's concepts of the disease among two traditional ethnic groups, the Jolas and the Manjagos, in five rural communities. Our results show that there appears to be a poor understanding of the chronic nature of the active inflammatory phase of trachoma among the local people. But more importantly, there is a lack of mental connection between this childhood infection and blindness resulting from trichiasis in adults. This probably explains why it is difficult for the people in these communities to see the need for prolonged use of antibiotic eye ointment as required in the treatment of active inflammatory trachoma. Moreover, the local concepts about the cause(s) of the disease tend to compel the people to seek the traditional herbal remedies first, though there is adequate knowledge and experience among them that modern methods of treatment may produce cure, as in the case of corrective lid surgery for trichiasis. This ambivalent attitude of the people to health services appear to be a universal phenomenon in many local communities in Africa, and perhaps hinges on the local people's perspective of the disease, which varies from place to place. We conclude that for any intervention strategy to achieve the set goals of eliminating trachoma in spite of these constraints, community support and participation is essential, and in order to achieve this, the health care provider needs to have a better understanding of the community perspectives of the disease.
Trachoma is a leading cause of blindness in the developing world and is most prevalent among peop... more Trachoma is a leading cause of blindness in the developing world and is most prevalent among people who live in poor rural communities in arid locations. We analysed the results of surveys of trachoma prevalence in Marakissa, a rural village in The Gambia. These surveys were undertaken in 1959, by the Medical Research Council, and in 1987 and 1996 by the Gambian National Eye Care Programme. During this 37-year period, the prevalence of active inflammatory trachoma among children aged 0-9 years fell from 65.7 cases per 100 children in 1959 to 2.4 cases per 100 children in 1996. The prevalence also fell dramatically among people of 10-19 years (52.5 to 1.4 per 100) and among people of 20 years and older (36.7 to 0 cases per 100). The dramatic fall in disease occurrence was paralleled by improvements in sanitation, water supply, education, and access to health care in the village. Of particular importance is that the decline in trachoma occurred without any trachoma-specific intervention.
Background: Street sweeping is an increasing popular outdoor occupation in major cities of Nigeri... more Background: Street sweeping is an increasing popular outdoor occupation in major cities of Nigeria. These workers are chronically exposed to diverse occupational and environmental sources of ocular hazards, that they may not be aware of. This may impair their adoption and compliance with the requisite safety practices. This study was aimed at assessing levels of awareness, knowledge, and practice of ocular safety among street sweepers in Calabar, Southern Nigeria.Materials and Methods: The study was a cross sectional study among one hundred and fifteen (115) street sweepers in Calabar Urban Development Authority, Nigeria over a period of three months. A systematic random sampling method was used to select respondents eligible for the study and a pretested semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain data. Data obtained was analysed using statistical package for social sciences version 20 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.).Results: One hundred and fifteen (115) subjects were studied, with mean age of 41.8 ± 10.4 years, and female to male ratio of 1:0.03. Seventy percent had good knowledge of ocular health safety; while 68% were aware of the occupational hazards associated with the job. Less than a quarter (19%) of workers used personal protective devices (PPD). Only 1% of the total who used PPD wore protective goggles while at work.Conclusion: Good knowledge and a high level of awareness on ocular health safety was seen among street sweepers. However, there was poor utilization of personal protective devices especially protective goggles among the workers which will increase their risk to occupational hazards.Keywords: Ocular health safety, street sweepers, Calabar
Background:Occupational predisposition to dry eye disease is known. Simultaneous exposure to mult... more Background:Occupational predisposition to dry eye disease is known. Simultaneous exposure to multiple factors may pose more risk. Street sweepers are exposed to sunlight in addition to dust which all sweepers are exposed to. This study aims to assess the prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) amongst Street sweepers and Office cleaners in Calabar metropolis.Methods:A cross sectional study was conducted among street sweepers and office cleaners. A systematic random sampling and multi-stage sampling method was used to select street sweepers (n=115) and office cleaners (n=115) respectively for the study. A pretested semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain information after which the respondents had an ophthalmic examination. An assessment of DED was done with Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, Schirmer’s test and tear break up time (TBUT).Results:Majority of respondents were females 215(93.5%) compared to males 15 (6.5%). The overall mean ...
Trachoma has justifiably attracted an incredibly large amount of research interest and literature... more Trachoma has justifiably attracted an incredibly large amount of research interest and literature over the last several decades. Perhaps, the area which is least explored is the social aspect of the disease. Most of the major constraints to trachoma control on the global scale appear to be concerned with this aspect of the disease. Recently, a study was conducted in The Gambia with the aim of highlighting the socio-cultural determinants of trachoma. We applied qualitative methods of Focus Group Discussion and Semi-structured interview to explore the local people's concepts of the disease among two traditional ethnic groups, the Jolas and the Manjagos, in five rural communities. Our results show that there appears to be a poor understanding of the chronic nature of the active inflammatory phase of trachoma among the local people. But more importantly, there is a lack of mental connection between this childhood infection and blindness resulting from trichiasis in adults. This probably explains why it is difficult for the people in these communities to see the need for prolonged use of antibiotic eye ointment as required in the treatment of active inflammatory trachoma. Moreover, the local concepts about the cause(s) of the disease tend to compel the people to seek the traditional herbal remedies first, though there is adequate knowledge and experience among them that modern methods of treatment may produce cure, as in the case of corrective lid surgery for trichiasis. This ambivalent attitude of the people to health services appear to be a universal phenomenon in many local communities in Africa, and perhaps hinges on the local people's perspective of the disease, which varies from place to place. We conclude that for any intervention strategy to achieve the set goals of eliminating trachoma in spite of these constraints, community support and participation is essential, and in order to achieve this, the health care provider needs to have a better understanding of the community perspectives of the disease.
Trachoma is a leading cause of blindness in the developing world and is most prevalent among peop... more Trachoma is a leading cause of blindness in the developing world and is most prevalent among people who live in poor rural communities in arid locations. We analysed the results of surveys of trachoma prevalence in Marakissa, a rural village in The Gambia. These surveys were undertaken in 1959, by the Medical Research Council, and in 1987 and 1996 by the Gambian National Eye Care Programme. During this 37-year period, the prevalence of active inflammatory trachoma among children aged 0-9 years fell from 65.7 cases per 100 children in 1959 to 2.4 cases per 100 children in 1996. The prevalence also fell dramatically among people of 10-19 years (52.5 to 1.4 per 100) and among people of 20 years and older (36.7 to 0 cases per 100). The dramatic fall in disease occurrence was paralleled by improvements in sanitation, water supply, education, and access to health care in the village. Of particular importance is that the decline in trachoma occurred without any trachoma-specific intervention.
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