Abstract
For public eye health programs, blindness registers can be an important tool for informing service planning. This study examines how the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired (BCVI) used its blindness register data to drive several public health interventions. Cross-sectional analysis was performed for all active registrants (n=1194) to determine the distribution of causes of registration according to age, sex, and geographical district. Cataract was the leading cause of registration (39.6%), followed by glaucoma (20.8%), diabetic retinopathy (10.2%), and childhood blindness (9.4%). The distribution of the causes of registration was fairly similar between men and women and across the various districts. However, in Stann Creek, whose population is largely of African descent, glaucoma exceeded cataract. For most causes, the majority of registrants were registered at age 50 or older. Follow-up was conducted four years later. Several interventions had been initiated, most notably bolstering cataract surgical services and creating screening programs for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. The register itself was also improved to maximize its utility for future use. While standardized surveys may be the most appropriate method of estimating population-based measures such as prevalence or incidence, the blindness register is still a valuable source of data for public health planning.
Highlights
Disease registers have widespread applications in medicine and public health
This study describes how one nonprofit organization, the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired (BCVI), used epidemiological findings from a national low vision and blindness register in Belize to inform the planning of its public eye health services
This study illustrates the value of blindness registers for day-to-day operational or management purposes, and for providing data on local disease patterns that can inform quality improvement initiatives in the long term planning and delivery of healthcare services
Summary
Disease registers have widespread applications in medicine and public health. Traditionally they have been designed to collect clinical information on a single topic and track patient outcomes longitudinally over time [1]. This study describes how one nonprofit organization, the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired (BCVI), used epidemiological findings from a national low vision and blindness register in Belize to inform the planning of its public eye health services. Prior to this analysis, there were virtually no published data concerning the epidemiology of blindness and visual impairment in Belize. Categories of visual impairment were defined according to the World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD10) based on presenting distance visual acuity in the better eye
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