Assessing Eye Health Knowledge and Practices amongst Primary Health Care Nurses in a Rural District in South Africa

Zamadonda Xulu-Kasaba, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Lwandile Flatela, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Visual impairment is a public health problem, globally. Effective management lies in adequate health policies and adequately nurses at primary health care (PHC) level. Eye health knowledge and practices were assessed amongst PHC workers in the Alfred Nzo district (Eastern Cape Province), South Africa. A cross-sectional study was done, where participants were selected using stratified random sampling, from various PHC facilities in the province. Quantitative data were collected using a PI assisted Likert scale tool from 200 anonymous respondents. A majority of 187 (93.5%) reported that they had never had any eye care training and did not know any eye health policies to refer to for triage. Poor scores were obtained for identifying common eye care conditions. Only 28% were able to identify a mature cataract, the leading cause of preventable blindness in SSA. PHC nurses showed poor knowledge and practices of eye health, due to inadequate eye health policies.