Abstract:
ABSTRACT
Background: Regular eye checkups are essential for diabetic patients in order to
reduce the impact of vision-threatening complications of diabetes mellitus; despite
having a good vision or asymptomatic. However, there is lack of evidence regarding the
eye care service utilization and associated factors among diabetic patients in Ethiopia.
Objective: the purpose of this study was to assess eye care service utilization and
associated factors among adult diabetic patients attending Diabetic care follow-up clinics
of Dessie and Debre Birhan Comprehensive Specialized Hospitals, Northeast Ethiopia,
2020.
Methods and materials: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 531
study participants at Dessie and Debre Birhan Comprehensive Specialized Hospitals
from July 06/2020 – August 14/2020. Systematic random sampling was employed to
select study participants. Pretested structured questionnaire, checklist, and visual acuity
charts were used to collect data. EpiData version 4.4 and Statistical Package for Social
Sciences version 25 softwares were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. The
descriptive statistics were summarized and presented by frequency distribution and
measures of central tendency. Variables with p-values of < 0.05 were considered as
statistically significant. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were used to
determine the strength of association.
Results: In this study, a total of 531 diabetic patients participated with the response rate
of 97.3%. The proportion of eye care service utilization within the past 1 year was 31.5%
[95%CI (27.5-35.4)]. Age of 40-59 years [AOR=2.87, 95%CI; (1.49-5.5)] and >60 years
[AOR=2.93, 95%CI; (1.44-5.98)], duration of diabetes mellitus 5-9 years [AOR=2.01,
95%CI; (1.1-3.82)] and >9 years [AOR=2.2, 95%CI; (1.14-4.22)], presence of visual
symptoms [AOR=4.37, 95%CI; (2.57-7.42)], favorable attitude [AOR=3, 95%CI;
(1.75-5.15)], and adequate knowledge [AOR=2.95, 95%CI; (1.67-5.22)] had statistically
significant association with eye care service utilization.
Conclusion and recommendations: The proportion of eye care service utilization in
this study was found to be 31.5%. Continuous health education on diabetic eye
complications as well as the need for eye checkups would be helpful.
Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, diabetic eye disease, eye care service utilization.
