A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Medicine
in the branch of Ophthalmology
Date: 22 June 2017 / Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the quality of life of patients who underwent an eye amputation after open globe injury. The study addressed both general and vision related quality of life, focussing on anxiety and depression. The demographics of the study participants/respondents were compared to similar studies.
Design and Method: The study design was a quantitative, prospective cross- sectional study using as a data tool, a self-administered questionnaire with demographic information, an extract of the WHO PBD VF20 questionnaire and the EQ5D. The participants were sampled using the convenience sampling method from the oculo-prosthesis clinic at the St John Eye Hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, Gauteng, during March 2016 to June 2016. The information was collated and the data analysed using SAS to determine means, distributions and comparisons among the groups.
Results: The demographics were comparable to other studies, except that more females were recruited in this current study.
Vision specific quality of life: 51% of the respondents experienced no problems, 26.4% experienced problems, sometimes, and 9.3% experienced problems, very often.
General health quality of life: 52,3% experienced an ideal life state. Only three respondents experienced a quality of life that was less than 50% of the ideal health state, all of whom indicated that they suffered severe pain. 83,8% of the study
participants/respondents experienced a quality of life that was more than 75% of the ideal health state.
Conclusion: Primary evisceration in severe ocular trauma is justified at the St John Eye Hospital due to the high burden of disease on the public health system (>70% of households), provided that certain criteria are met with regards to the visual potential of the eye. The higher female incidence could be due to alcohol misuse and gender violence; however, this will require further research. Despite the majority of the respondents having a health score of more than 75%, those with a higher pain score recorded a lower quality of life score. The participants who sustained open eye injuries leading to amputation were more prone to high levels of anxiety and depression. Continued health surveillance at the oculo-prosthesis clinic is advised with appropriate referrals to a social worker and or a psychologist/ psychiatrist and further on- referrals. / MT2017
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/23275 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Abrahamse-Pillay, Helga Inez |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
Page generated in 0.0019 seconds