Prevalence of Presbyopia, Spectacle Correction Coverage and Unmet Need, among Adults in Cross River State, Nigeria.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of presbyopia, spectacle correction coverage and its unmet needs among adults 35 years and above in the study area.Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study design used multistage cluster random sampling procedure to select the 616 adults. Data was collected using an interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaire. Visual acuity at distance and near was tested with Snellen’s chart at 6m and 40cm respectively. This was followed by eye examination. Presbyopia was defined as near visual acuity of N8 or worse. Relationship between variables were determined using chi square and multivariate analysis at 5% significant level.Results: The average age of participants was 48.1 years ± 10.4 (range, 35-88 years) and 330 (53.6 %) were males. The prevalence of presbyopia was 73.2% (95% Confidence interval [CI]: 69.5, 76.7). Multiple regression analysis showed that, female sex (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =1.58 (95% CI: 1.02, 2.38), older age (AOR =3.29 (95% CI: 1.02, 13.6), unemployment (β = 0.47, p = 0.016, AOR =1.59 (95% CI: 1.26, 4.55), lack of formal education (β = -3.67, p < 0.001, AOR =0.03 (95% CI: 0.007, 0.09) were significantly associated with presbyopia. The spectacle correction coverage and unmet presbyopic need were 40.8%, and 59.2% respectively.Conclusion: The Prevalence of presbyopia and unmet presbyopic correction were high among the participants. This can be addressed through awareness creation and provision of accessible and affordable primary eye care services in the communities

Training health workers at scale in Nigeria to fight COVID-19 using the InStrat COVID-19 tutorial app: an e-health interventional study

Background: Health worker training is an essential component of epidemic control; rapid delivery of such training is possible in low-middle income countries with digital platforms. Methods: Based on prior experience with the Ebola outbreak, we developed and deployed a bespoke InStrat COVID-19 tutorial app, to deliver accurate and regularly updated information about COVID-19 to frontline health workers and epidemic response officers across 25 states of Nigeria. The potential effectiveness of this app in training frontline health workers was assessed through online pre- and post-tests and a survey. Results: A total of 1051 health workers from 25 states across Nigeria undertook the e-learning on the InStrat COVID-19 training app. Of these, 627 (57%) completed both the pre- and post-tests in addition to completing the training modules. Overall, there were statistically significant differences between pre- and post-tests knowledge scores (54 increasing to 74). There were also differences in the subcategories of sex, region and cadre. There were higher post-test scores in males compared with females, younger versus older and southern compared with northern Nigeria. A total of 65 (50%) of the participants reported that the app increased their understanding of COVID-19, while 69 (53%) stated that they had applied the knowledge and skills learnt at work. Overall, the functionality and usability of the app were satisfactory. Conclusion: Capacity building for epidemic control using e-health applications is potentially effective, can be delivered at minimal cost and service disruption and can serve as a tool for capacity building in similar contexts