Barriers to utilisation of eye care services in Kibera slums of Nairobi

Abstract

To identify the main barriers to utilisation of eye care services among the slum population of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. DESIGN: Community based survey. SETTING: Kibera slums, Nairobi City, Kenya. SUBJECTS: Randomly selected 1,438 Kibera slum dwellers aged over two years. RESULTS: Majority of subjects (83.3%) do not utilise the nearby well-established eye clinics. Twenty one percent of those with poor vision do not seek treatment at all. The main barriers to seeking eye care services were lack of money, ignorance and the problem not causing much discomfort to warrant medical attention. There was significant, association between the level of education and health seeking behaviour (P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Majority of Kibera slum dwellers have no access to eye care. RECOMMENDATION: There is need to establish a comprehensive primary eye care project to provide low cost but quality services affordable to Kibera slum dwellers.