PROCESS EVALUATION OF CATARACT SURGERY PROGRAMS IN UNIVERSITY OF GONDAR COMPREHENSIVE REFERAL HOSPITAL, NORTH WEST, ETHIOPIA.

Abstract

Abstract Background:-Globally, cataract is the leading cause of blindness which accounts for 51% of blind people.[1] Visual rehabilitation is made through sight-restoring surgery. It is good news to know that atleast75% of allblindness in thedevelopingcountries can be prevented or s tepped. But little information is known about the program evaluation of the cataract surgery provision in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the Process evaluation of cataract surgery program provision at the University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital, central Gondar zone northwest, Ethiopia, 2021. Methods and materials: A facility-based single case study designed was conducted at University of Gondar Comprehensive specialized hospital. The sample size was calculated based on single population proportion formula. The final sample size was 422 patients who under take cataract surgery. Each study participant was selected based on simple random sampling technique. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected from April 23– May 25/2021. A Formative evaluation approach was used because the services are still ongoing. Quantitative data were entered to Epi.info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 24 Software for analysis. Qualitative data were transcribed and translated to English, and they are coded using patterns and analyzed. Field notes were written as fair notes for qualitative data after data collection every night and thematically analyzed. Results: The study found that the overall level of the process evaluation of cataract surgery program provision according to the judgmental parameter was 83.21 percent. The satisfaction of patients with cataract surgery services was 77.77%. Resource’s availability was 86.6 percent, and compliance was 85.6 percent. The satisfaction dimension was the area that needs improvement. Patient satisfaction was affected by occupational status, waiting time to get the service and marital status. Conclusion and recommendation: The overall level of program implementation was judged as good. In complying with the standard guideline in terms of compliance and resource availability, however, there is a need for improvements such as ensuring of patient satisfaction. Participants were dissatisfied with cleanness of toilet, appointment schedule, overall counseling, drug availability, service of chart department systems. Keywords: Process, Evaluation, Availability, Compliance, Gondar, Ethiopia