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Cataract Services are Leaving Widows Behind: Examples from National Cross-Sectional Surveys in Nigeria and Sri Lanka

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  • Jacqueline Ramke

    (International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
    School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand)

  • Fatima Kyari

    (College of Health Sciences, Baze University, Abuja 900108, Nigeria)

  • Nyawira Mwangi

    (International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
    Department of Clinical Medicine, Kenya Medical Training College, Nairobi 00100, Kenya)

  • MMPN Piyasena

    (International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
    Ministry of Health, Indigenous Medicine and Nutrition, Policy Analysis and Development Unit, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka)

  • GVS Murthy

    (International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
    Public Health Foundation of India, Hyderabad, Telangana 122002, India)

  • Clare E Gilbert

    (International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals aim to leave no one behind. We explored the hypothesis that women without a living spouse—including those who are widowed, divorced, separated, and never married—are a vulnerable group being left behind by cataract services. Using national cross-sectional blindness surveys from Nigeria (2005–2007; n = 13,591) and Sri Lanka (2012–2014; n = 5779) we categorized women and men by marital status (married/not-married) and place of residence (urban/rural) concurrently. For each of the eight subgroups we calculated cataract blindness, cataract surgical coverage (CSC), and effective cataract surgical coverage (eCSC). Not-married women, who were predominantly widows, experienced disproportionate cataract blindness—in Nigeria they were 19% of the population yet represented 56% of those with cataract blindness; in Sri Lanka they were 18% of the population and accounted for 54% of those with cataract blindness. Not-married rural women fared worst in access to services—in Nigeria their CSC of 25.2% (95% confidence interval, CI 17.8–33.8%) was far lower than the best-off subgroup (married urban men, CSC 80.0% 95% CI 56.3–94.3); in Sri Lanka they also lagged behind (CSC 68.5% 95% CI 56.6–78.9 compared to 100% in the best-off subgroup). Service quality was also comparably poor for rural not-married women—eCSC was 8.9% (95% CI 4.5–15.4) in Nigeria and 37.0% (95% CI 26.0–49.1) in Sri Lanka. Women who are not married are a vulnerable group who experience poor access to cataract services and high cataract blindness. To “leave no one behind”, multi-faceted strategies are needed to address their needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacqueline Ramke & Fatima Kyari & Nyawira Mwangi & MMPN Piyasena & GVS Murthy & Clare E Gilbert, 2019. "Cataract Services are Leaving Widows Behind: Examples from National Cross-Sectional Surveys in Nigeria and Sri Lanka," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-11, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:20:p:3854-:d:275587
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