Thesis (MPH.) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / The Department of health, Limpopo province in recent years has developed eye care services in public hospitals. It is reckoned that people living in the rural areas would benefit significantly from the cheaper public eye care services. However, the level of utilization of the public eye care services by the rural communities in the province has not been investigated. It was therefore, considered of interest to evaluate whether or not the services are being utilized adequately or not. AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not the public eye care services in the Capricorn district, Limpopo Province are adequately utilized by the rural population. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional qualitative survey study design was used. A questionnaire with 42 questions on the utilization of eye care services was developed in English, translated to Northern Sotho (the local dialect) and back translated to ensure veracity. The questionnaire included questions on demography, knowledge of available eye care services, need for eye care services, utilization, attitude and perception of public eye care services. The questionnaire was field-tested in a pilot study conducted prior to the study and involves 20 participants, with final amendments made to ensure clarity of contents. The participants included males and females from 1000 households in selected 38 villages. The questionnaire was delivered to the head of each household for completion. Data analysis was done with computer software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 15. Results are presented in narrative and tabular forms and as figures.

MPH / Department of Public Health / See the attached abstract below

D. Litt et Phil. (Literature and Philosophy) / Eye health promotion is an important aspect of VISION 2020 campaign that aims to eliminate unwarranted cases of avoidable blindness worldwide by the year 2020. Most developing countries, including South Africa, have a serious burden of eye diseases and unwarranted causes of visual impairment and blindness. The purpose of this research therefore was to highlight the lack of an integrated eye health promotion policy in the South African primary health care system which can play a major role in the elimination of this burden of disease and also to make proposals for eye health promotion policy development in South Africa. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods was used in this study. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted with all national and provincial health managers of portfolios relevant to eye care. Also, various health policy documents were requested from the National and Provincial Department of Health to ascertain claims of any existing guidelines on eye care. The policy documents and guidelines obtained had no specific reference to eye health promotion. Only 11 (23%) of the managers of provincial health directorates reported that they have integrated vision screening in their health promotion programmes as part of eye health promotion strategies. Eye care managers in the provinces reported that school visits accounted for 75% of eye health promotion programmes target areas. Also, apart from the Northern Cape Province which has no eye care manager and consequently no eye health promotion programmes, the Western Cape Province also does not have eye health promotion programmes and relies mostly on private sector for eye care services. The lack of an integrated eye health promotion policy and most probably the lack of a dedicated directorate that deals with eye health promotion issues may be a contributing factor to the overwhelming lack of integrated eye health promotion activities in South Africa. It is therefore recommended that an integrated eye health promotion model be developed and be part of the South African primary health care system. / Health Studies