Surveying eye health in Fiji and Timor-Leste

The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ is currently conducting population-based eye health surveys in Timor-Leste and Fiji to determine the prevalence of blindness and vision impairment in each country

Hollows NZ staff member Adao Ili Doli takes a participant's completed survey form in Lautem district, TL. Photo: Lucy Lee/FHFNZ

These surveys of adults aged 40 years and over will give us a greater understanding of eye health in Timor-Leste and Fiji, and provide information about the availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability of services in both countries.

Information will be obtained about the delivery of services and their impact, as well as on knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning eye health and eye care.

The surveys will also investigate willingness to pay for spectacles and cataract surgical services, as well as barriers to utilisation of eye care services. This, in turn, will help in the development of effective health promotion and communication strategies in the future.

This is the second Eye Health Survey to be conducted in Timor-Leste. The first was undertaken in partnership with the Ministry of Health in 2005 and estimated a blindness prevalence of 4.7%. Information obtained at the time was used to develop strategies for further improvement of the delivery of eye care in Timor-Leste, and for national and district level planning. This included the Ministry of Health’s National Eye Health Strategy, and that of Fo Naroman Timor-Leste (Give Sight Timor Leste/FNTL), the country’s largest local non-governmental organisation committed to delivering eye health interventions. This second survey will repeat the initial areas of research and enquiry surveyed in 2005, as well as including extra questions to gain an understanding of the public’s perception of existing eye health facilities, and measure progress and change since 2005.

A participant in the Fiji Eye Health Survey, September 2009

The survey in Fiji is the first of it’s kind and in addition to measuring the prevalence of blindness and vision impairment, it will also investigate the prevalence of diabetes, diabetic eye disease and glaucoma. This information will be used to plan, deliver and evaluate eye care services in Fiji, particularly with regard to diabetes eye care and its integration with wider eye and health care.

The research findings will also be used to further develop and refine courses taught at the Foundation’s Pacific Eye Institute and to provide continuing education to our graduates working in both countries.

The Fijian Eye Health Survey will conclude in early November, with preliminary findings available before year-end. The Timor-Leste Eye Health Survey will continue into next year, and is expected to be completed by March 2010.