Rural eye care practice-survey of ophthalmology resident doctors in Nigeria

AIM:To determine the factors affecting the uptake of rural practice by trainee ophthalmologists in Nigeria.METHODS: This cross sectional survey was conducted among Nigerian Ophthalmology resident doctors attending an annual Neuro-ophthalmology course jointly organized by the West African College of Surgeons and the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria Southeast-South south zone(OSN SESS), preparatory to the part 1 and 2 fellowship examination from 15th to 21st June 2015. A pre-tested closed-ended questionnaire adapted and modified for this study was self-administered at the end of the course to all consenting participants. Data on respondent's socio-demographics and views about rural eye care services were collected. In addition, information was collected on the respondents' perception of rural practice, willingness to practice in the rural area, benefits and barriers to working in the rural area. Data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences(SPSS), version 19(SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). Descriptive analysis yielded measures of central tendency while comparative statistical tests for significance of observed inter-group differences was performed using Chi-square. In all comparisons, the P- value for statistical significance was set at PRESULTS: The total number of respondents was 44 aged 32.9±0.56y, comprising of 24(54.5%)males and 20 females with a male to female ratio of 1:0.8. All the respondents viewed the current state of rural service in Nigeria as unsatisfactory. Majority(75.0%)of the respondents were unwilling to practice Ophthalmology in rural areas. More females than males indicated willingness to work in the rural area. The commonest potential benefit of working in a rural area mentioned by the respondents was “health services for the poor/serving the country”(37; 84%)while all the respondents(44; 100%), noted absence of infrastructure/facilities as drawback to rural ophthalmic practice.CONCLUSION: All the respondents in our survey had an unsatisfactory perception of Nigeria's rural eye-care service and majority were unwilling to work in a rural area