Prevalence and associated factors of visual impairment among adults attending Phelophepa Train, South Africa

\r\nBackground\r\nVisual impairment (VI) is caused by various conditions such as uncorrected refractive error (URE), cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (DR), trauma and HIV or AIDS complications.\r\n\r\n\r\nAim\r\nThis study determines the prevalence and associated factors of VI among adults aged 35 years and older attending the Phelophepa Train in the Eastern Cape.\r\n\r\n\r\nSetting\r\nData were collected at the Phelophepa eye clinic using participants from the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.\r\n\r\n\r\nMethods\r\nA quantitative and cross-sectional study was conducted using a systematic random sampling method to select a sample of record cards from 563 participants. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to perform bivariate analyses, linear regression analysis and confidence intervals (CI).\r\n\r\n\r\nResults\r\nThe mean age was 59.17 ± 12.95 years (range = 35–93 years). The prevalence of VI and blindness was 57.6% (95% CI: 53.0% – 61.0%), VI was 51% and blindness at 6.6%. The majority were females and resided in rural areas, with low socioeconomic status being a significant risk factor for VI (P