Awareness regarding eye donation among stakeholders in Srikakulam district in South India

Ophthalmologists' perspectives on corneal transplantation and donation: a survey from Türkiye

PURPOSE

To evaluate ophthalmologists' interest and opinions regarding corneal transplantation and donation in Türkiye.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

An online questionnaire was prepared using Google Forms, and the electronic link to this questionnaire was sent via WhatsApp to ophthalmologists working in Türkiye. Eighteen open-ended/multiple-choice questions were asked about ophthalmologists' demographic information and their opinions regarding corneal transplantation and donation. The answers were analyzed by transferring the data to Excel.

RESULTS

A total of 195 ophthalmologists participated in the survey. While 68.6% of them stated that they wanted to donate their corneas, 21.1% stated that they were undecided, and 10.3% did not want to donate their corneas. While 93.8% of the participants agreed to have a cornea transplant in case of need, 5.7% of them stated that they were undecided, and 0.5% said that they would not accept a cornea transplant. The most frequent (90.5%) reason for being willing to donate one's cornea was to give hope to patients with low vision. The most frequent (46.2%) reason for not wanting to donate one's cornea was the unwillingness to have one's body/eye integrity impaired. The vast majority (80.8%) of the participants thought that there was not enough corneal donation in Türkiye and that this was mostly (85.9%) due to cultural and/or religious reasons.

CONCLUSIONS

Even in a sample with a high level of education and the most knowledge about corneal transplantation, the willingness to donate corneas may remain below the expected rates. Therefore, it is necessary to alleviate unrealistic concerns and prejudices about corneal donation and transplantation.

Impact of an educational video in improving awareness of eye donation among non-medical health care workers in a tertiary health centre

PURPOSE

To evaluate the impact of an educational video in improving awareness of eye donation among non-medical healthcare workers at a tertiary health centre.

METHODS

A socio-behavioural study on knowledge and attitude towards eye donation was conducted among 373 non-medical healthcare workers through a printed semi-structured questionnaire before and after viewing a bilingual educational video. The responses were evaluated and scored.

RESULTS

Pre-intervention, only 5.4% of the participants had adequate knowledge, which improved significantly to 71.6% after watching the video (P < .001). Respondents with elementary school education showed the greatest change in knowledge. Pre-intervention, 72.4% were willing to donate their eyes, which significantly increased to 89.5% after watching the video. Pre-intervention, 66.22% showed a "highly favourable" attitude, which improved to 97.86% after watching the video.

CONCLUSION

The 25 min video about eye donation and eye banking significantly changed the participants' knowledge, willingness, and attitude. Hence, media-based (video) awareness platforms may be valuable for improving the general public's knowledge and attitude towards eye donation. This may help in enhancing the eye donation rate in the long term.

Jordanian nursing students' knowledge and attitudes of corneal donation

A high success rate of corneal transplants is evident. However, there is still a lack of corneal grafts available to meet demand, largely because donors are reluctant to donate. Given their critical role in future healthcare teaching and advocacy. There has not been much research on Jordanian nursing students' perspectives on corneal donation, so it's critical to identify and eliminate any obstacles. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of Jordanian nursing students concerning corneal donation. A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used to recruit (n = 440) nursing students from four Jordanian universities. A self-reported questionnaire was used to obtain data on knowledge and attitudes regarding corneal donation. The average age of senior nursing students was (M = 23.07, SD = 3.63) years. Varying levels of understanding were revealed amongst university students toward corneal donation items. Generally, good attitude of nursing students toward corneal donation (M = 34.1, SD = 8.1). Weak positive relationship was found between total knowledge scores and age (r = 0.141, p = 0.003) while there is no significant relationship between age and total attitude score (r = 0.031, p = 0.552). Age was found to be a significant predictor (B = 0.01, Beta = 0.12, t = 2.07, p = 0.04). Also, the educational level of fathers is a significant positive predictor (Beta = 0.128, p = 0.008) for the total attitude scores among nursing students. Limited awareness of corneal donation, highlighting the need for focused educational interventions to improve their comprehension.

Awareness and attitudes towards eye donation among medical and allied health students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Background

Many national studies in Saudi Arabia have revealed a lack of knowledge about eye donation. The current study assessed awareness and attitudes towards eye donation among health faculty students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It aims to increase their awareness as future healthcare providers are expected to raise general awareness to attain more local corneal donations.

Methods

A cross-sectional study including 1,060 health faculty students was conducted at King Abdulaziz University. Data were collected through an online questionnaire that covered participants' demographics, academic year, knowledge, and attitudes regarding eye donation.

Results

Thirty-five percent of students had heard about eye donation, with the most common sources of information being social media (29%) and health workers (24%). Most respondents, 61% (n = 643), indicated willingness to donate their eyes after death. Of these respondents, 93% (n = 986), 6.8% (n = 72), and 0.2% (n = 2) had poor, fair, and good knowledge levels, respectively. A total of 66% (n = 696) and 34% (n = 364) had negative and positive attitudes, respectively.

Conclusion

Students in this study showed low levels of knowledge and negative attitudes about eye donation. Students should be adequately educated about the significance of eye donation.

Eye Donation Counsellor Skill Evaluation Tool (EDC-SET): A step toward improved eye donation counseling

PURPOSE

The expansion of the Hospital Corneal Retrieval Programme (HCRP) and the role of Eye Donation Counsellors (EDCs) have shown promising results in increasing donor cornea availability. To further enhance EDC competency and improve cornea availability for transplantation, the study proposes the Eye Donation Counsellor Skill Evaluation Tool (EDC-SET). Key words: Competency assessment, corneal blindness, Eye Donation Counsellors (EDCs), eye health, Hospital Corneal Retrieval Programme (HCRP), skill evaluation.

METHODS

A competency framework for EDCs and a tool for evaluation of the competency level (EDC-SET) was designed, along with scripts for emulating realistic counselling scenarios. Independent assessors were trained on using EDC-SET and evaluated EDCs participating in role-plays based on the pre-designed scripts. EDCs were briefed a priori on the EDC-SET but not on the role play scripts which were used during evaluation.

RESULTS

We piloted the tool at a tertiary eye hospital, and it was found to capture EDC competency reliably. The study evaluated seven EDCs each assessed by two independent assessors. Conformity, kappa, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values were calculated to estimate the parameter-wise reliability of the EDC-SET. The results suggest that the scores from both assessors closely matched for most of the parameters, and overall, their ratings showed moderate agreement. The difficulty level of each parameter as assessed by the two assessors was also calculated. It was observed that most participants found "Initiation of the Case" and "Empathy and Emotional Support" challenging. However, "Body Language," "Cultural Awareness," and "Attentiveness to Family Dynamics" were perceived as relatively easy or not difficult by participants.

CONCLUSION

Evaluation of EDCs using EDC-SET revealed the varying competency levels of EDCs and showed agreement on the evaluation between the assessors. Implementing the EDC-SET could help standardise the mapping and measurement of the skill set of EDCs, thereby enhancing their performance and reducing corneal blindness in India.

Eye Donation: Knowledge, Beliefs, Awareness, and Willingness Among Ambulance Drivers in Central India

Aim

To determine the awareness about and willingness to donate eyes among ambulance drivers in Central India.

Design

Prospective, observational, noncomparative, and cross-sectional survey study.

Setting

Tertiary eye care center in Central India.

Methods

The present study used a structured questionnaire distributed to ambulance drivers during the eye donation fortnight (August 25-September 8, 2022). The questionnaire comprised four domains: awareness, knowledge beliefs, and willingness to donate eyes. The collected data were entered into an Excel sheet and analyzed using SPSS software.

Results

Forty-seven ambulance drivers participated in the study. All participants were men. The results showed that 48.9% (n = 23) of the ambulance drivers had completed elementary or middle school education. Furthermore, 27 (57%) participants were aware of eye donation; however, only 14 (29.7%) realized its importance. The source of information was mobile phones (n = 20, 42.6%). The common reason for the nondonation of eyes was lack of awareness (n = 14 29.7%). Thirty-five (74.5%) ambulance drivers were willing to donate their eyes, and the most common reason was the gratification derived from helping blind people.

Conclusion

The study revealed the need to improve awareness and knowledge about eye donation among the participants. Arranging short sessions round the year, addressing the myths associated with eye donation, and sharing motivational stories may help create awareness. Display of information and booklets on eye donation in the ambulance is likely to help in obtaining more corneas for transplantation.

Knowledge, awareness and attitude of eye donation among non-clinical staff of a tertiary eye hospital in South India

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, awareness and attitude of eye donation among non-clinical staff of tertiary eye hospitals and to convey a positive attitude toward eye donation by enhancing their awareness and knowledge.

Methods

An online cross-sectional study was conducted among the non-clinical staff from all centers of a tertiary eye care hospital across Tamil Nadu. Quiz link was emailed to non-clinical staff of all the centers. On completion of the quiz, the participants viewed their respective scores and the correct answers to all questions. This activity was presumed to subsequently improve their knowledge and clear up the myths on eye donation.

Results

Two hundred twenty-eight non-clinical staff from 11 hospitals participated in the quiz. Mean age was 35.3 ± 9.8 years and 130 were female staff (57.05%). One hundred eighty-one participants (79.39%) scored over 50% of the total 17 queries. One hundred eighty-six (81.58%) and 142 (62.28%) participants scored over 50% in the awareness section and knowledge section, respectively. Eye bank volunteers (73, 32.02%) were the main source of information. Twenty-four (10.53%) had already taken pledge for eye donation and 175 (76.75%) were willing to pledge, 29 (12.72%) were not willing to pledge. Twenty-two out of these 29 (75.86%) had no specific reason for not pledging. Family, religious reasons, lack of clarity and fear were least cited reasons (13.79%).

Conclusion

Non-clinical staff of an eye hospital are easily approachable and are expected to be more knowledgeable by the general public around them. They might act as primary motivators in raising awareness within their family, friends, relatives and neighbors.

Analysis of motivating factors for eye donation among families of eye donors in South India - A questionnaire-based study

Purpose

To report the factors influencing eye donation among families of successful eye donors in India.

Methods

The consenting family members of 434 deceased individuals who donated eyes between April 2019 and March 2020 were retrospectively interviewed via a telephonic questionnaire survey. Details regarding the donors and their families, motivating factors for eye donation, and time taken for tissue recovery were collected and analyzed.

Results

The mean age of donors was 66.8 years, and only 13.9% of them had pledged to donate their eyes before death. For 62.3% of donations, children of donors were the primary consenters for eye donation. In 18.8% of donors, there was a previous history of eye donation in the family. Many donations were motivated by a non-governmental organization volunteer (40.5%) or by a grief counselor at the hospital (27.4%). Hospital-based corneal retrieval programs and donations where the first eye bank contact was made through hospital personnel had the greatest percentage of rapid enucleations (performed within 3 h after death) (48.7% and 49.1%, respectively; P = 0.001 and P = 0.02, respectively).

Conclusion

Children of donors, typically in the working-age group, most often make the decision for donation, and hence, future awareness programs should focus on this specific population. All types of hospitals should advocate for eye donation as they are a common point of contact for a grieving family, and health-care professionals at all levels should be considered for training as motivators for eye donation.

Obstacles to Post-mortem Cornea Donation: A Study From a Tribal Region in Eastern India

Purpose: Studying the cognizance and hindrances of eye benefactors amongst relatives of post-mortem cases in an Indian tertiary referral centre.

Methods: This prospective study was executed at a tertiary hospital. In this examination, the relatives had been approached and counselled systematically. The responses had been noted in a predesigned proforma. Data regarding demographic details, socioeconomic status, prior knowledge of eye benefactor, willingness and reasons for refusing eye benefactor, literacy level, relationship with the deceased patient, and so on were collected.

Results: One hundred fifty-six potential donors had been identified from 845 post-mortem cases. Among these potential donors were 63 women and 93 men. Thirty-eight next of kin had been seen as already cognizant regarding eye benefactor; however, other 118 families were unaware. A total of 109 families refused to donate eyes while other 47 showed willingness for the procedure. It was seen that there was no influence on literacy status, socioeconomic status and prior knowledge regarding the concept of willingness to donate.

Conclusion: Counselling for eye benefactor exercises a crucial role in procuring corneas. Socioeconomic status, literacy and prior understanding of eye donation had no link with donor corneal tissue procurement in our study. Even in families with no prior knowledge and poor socioeconomic status, active counselling can be successful.

The impact of having a relative in a need for cornea: the Knowledge, Attitude, and Willingness for Corneal Donation (KAWCD) questionnaire

Despite the advancement in the field of corneal transplantation, corneal donation is still the only source for cornea. In our study, we aimed to find predictors for a person's willingness toward cornea donation, and the impact of having a relative in a need for cornea transplantation on the willingness to donate cornea. The study included two cohorts to be compared, first degree relatives of patients waiting for corneal transplantation, and general ophthalmology patients who do not have relatives waiting for corneal donation. We designed questionnaire on Knowledge, Attitude, and Willingness for Cornea Donation (KAWCD), a tool specifically designed to measure the knowledge about corneal donation, and the attitude towards it. A total of 269 participants were included in this study, with a mean age of 49.59 (± 17.24) years. We included 182 (67.7%) participants who did not have a relative with or in need for corneal transplantation, and 87 (32.3%) participants who are first degree relatives to patients on the waiting list for corneal transplantation. Upon assessing factors predicting willingness for corneal donation, we found that attitude (p < 0.001; OR 1.126 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.17)) and age (p = 0.022; OR 0.973 (95% CI 0.95 to 0.99)) are the only predictors for willingness to donate. We found that the willingness to donate cornea is related to the attitude, rather than the knowledge about corneal donation. We believe awareness campaigns should focus on encouragement to donate corneas, rather than providing information about it.

Awareness on Eye Donation in the North-eastern State of Tripura, India - The Tripura Eye Survey

Purpose: To determine the awareness on eye donation and willingness to pledge eyes for donation among the population aged ≥40 years in the northeastern state of Tripura, India. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 2,500 participants. The investigators conducted a detailed interview on awareness of eye donation and willingness to pledge eyes for donation. 'Awareness' was defined as having heard about eye donation. Those who reported awareness of eye donation were asked a question on willingness to pledge their eyes. Results: A total of 2,440/2,500 (97.6%) participants responded to the questionnaire. Among these, 1,216 (49.8%) participants were men, and 859 (35.2%) had no education. The mean age of the participants was 54.7 years (standard deviation:12.1 years). Overall, 61.4% (95% CI:59.5-63.4; n = 1,499) reported awareness of eye donation; of those only 3.8% (95% CI:2.9-4.9; n = 57) were willing to pledge their eyes for donation. On multivariable analyses, the odds of awareness were higher among those who had school education (OR:2.12; 95% CI: 1.73-2.56) or higher education (OR:11.79; 95% CI:7.35-18.93). Deformity associated with eye donation (n = 327;76.9%) followed by religious reasons (n = 63; 14.8%) and a belief that those who donate eye are 'born blind in the next birth' (n = 23; 5.4%) were the main reasons for lack of willingness to pledge their eyes for donation. Conclusions: Although the awareness regarding eye donation was satisfactory, there was lack of willingness to pledge eyes for donation. There is a need for focussed information, education, and communication campaigns to encourage eye donation in Tripura.

Adaptation of the MAUQ and usability evaluation of a mobile phone-based system to promote eye donation

INTRODUCTION

Mobile Applications (apps) are commonly used in the health care settings to improve the quality of care, however prior to the release of the app it is vital to evaluate its usability. Therefore, the aim of this study is to adapt the mobile Health App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) and measure the usability of the Eye donor Aust App using the modified instrument (m-MAUQ).

METHODS

The study was undertaken using a convenience sample of 94 patients and their carers attending three eye clinics and one outpatient department in a large hospital in Sydney Australia. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 involved the adaptation of the MAUQ, and validity testing of the modified version. Phase 2 included the usability evaluation of the Eye donor Aust App using the modified MAUQ (m-MAUQ).

RESULTS

The m-MAUQ comprised of 15 items and the content validity of the instrument was considered satisfactory. Exploratory factor analysis supported a three-factor structure namely: ease of use and satisfaction (nine items), usefulness in obtaining information (three items), and system information arrangement (three items). The internal consistency for the subscales and the total scale was high with Cronbach's alpha values greater than 0.90. The usability score for the Eye donor Aust App was high (mean 5.99; SD 0.74). The construct validity was supported as there were no differences in usability scores among males and females. Older people found the app less useful for obtaining information about eye donation.

CONCLUSIONS

The results support the use of the m-MAUQ as a valid instrument to measure the usability of the Eye Donor Aust App. This instrument requires further testing in other groups of people. Usability testing of the Eye Donor Aust app demonstrated that the participants were satisfied with the content and functionality of the app stating that it was well organised, visually appealing and user friendly. This result could translate into more people using the app and thereby increasing their knowledge and attitude towards eye donation as well as registering to become a donor.

Making the decision to donate eyes: Perspectives from the families of the deceased in Madurai, India

Purpose:

To identify factors affecting family members' decision whether to donate eye organs.

Methods:

A community-based case-control study based on in-home interviews with families of deceased individuals who had or had not donated eye organs, in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India. Data collected were knowledge and awareness of eye donations, whether the deceased individual had expressed or pledged willingness to donate, and family members' attitudes and willingness to donate their own eye organs.

Results:

Seventy-six families of donors and 256 families of non-donors completed the survey. Multivariable analysis showed that the following variables were significantly associated with a donation: age, whether the deceased had registered for eye donation, pre-expressed willingness of deceased to donate, whether family members personally know beneficiaries of eye donations, and higher score on a scale evaluating knowledge and awareness about eye donation. The majority of donors' families (71%) had been encouraged by someone to donate. Among non-donor families, a substantially larger fraction (52.8%) indicated they would have donated had someone reminded or encouraged them to do so, in comparison with those who indicated lack of awareness or knowledge (14.5%).

Conclusion:

Community programs are likely to be effective if they encourage individuals to pledge their eyes or express their willingness to donate their eyes to family members in advance of death; they increase public awareness of the value of eye donation. A friend, family member, neighbor or counselor approaching bereaved families and having a dialogue about eye donation would substantially increase the probability of a decision to donate.

Interactive online survey raises awareness about cornea donation

Objective

To assess the impact of a 5 min interactive online survey on raising awareness about cornea donation and willingness to become a donor.

Methods

An interactive online questionnaire was used to collect information regarding awareness, perceptions and attitudes towards cornea donation and to educate the participants about the process and value of cornea donation. Willingness to become a cornea donor was assessed at the beginning and the end of the survey.

Results

The survey was completed by 1769 Greek residents. Willingness to become a cornea donor increased from 40.5% (n=717) at the beginning of the survey to 55.2% (n=977) by the end of it (p<0.00001). Younger participants, those whose work or studies were unrelated to the medical field, and those with the least knowledge about cornea donation and transplantation were more likely to change their views towards donation by the end of the survey (42.3%, 44.8% and 82.1% increase in willingness to donate, respectively). Major deterrents to donation were lack of information, concerns about the use of the donated corneas and corruption within the medical field.

Conclusion

Our 5 min online survey had a significant impact on changing the mentality towards cornea donation in Greece. We live in an online era and incorporation of online tools and applications in awareness campaigns towards cornea and organ donation has become a necessity.

Eye donation in north India: Trends, awareness, influences and barriers

Purpose

To understand trends, awareness, influences and barriers to eye donation in Indian society.

Methods

This cross sectional study was conducted in Delhi from March 2017 to February 2018. About 10 hospitals collaborated with the Eye Bank under Human Cornea Retrieval Program (HCRP). Eye Bank recruited Eye Donation Counselors (EDCs) to approach family members of the deceased. A pretested questionnaire was used for this study. Irrespective of whether the next of kin of the deceased consented for eye donation or not, the option of participating in the survey was given.

Results

Out of 473 potential donors identified, 407 (86%) next of kin consented to participate in the study. Of these, 388 (95.3%) were males and 19 (4.7%) were females. About 168 (41%) consented for eye donation and were assigned to donor group, while 239 (59%) participants refused eye donation and were assigned to non-donor group. Majority of the participants were siblings 170 (41.8%) of the deceased and the mean age of the deceased was 42.71 ± 17.56 years. The foremost concern before decision-making was transparency in how the cornea would be used (32.25%). The concern with regards to whether the body would remain intact after eye donation significantly decreased the probability of consent for eye donation.

Conclusion

The study highlights that barriers to eye donation in India are not cultural or religious but more due to misinformation and proper utilization of the donated tissue. This study also emphasizes the pivotal role of EDC's in facilitating the eye donation movement.

Public attitudes toward corneal donation in northern Jordan

Purpose

The aims of this study were to assess the knowledge and attitude toward corneal donation among Jordanian population and to report the reasons which may influence subject’s decision and attitude toward corneal donation.

Methods

A self-designed questionnaire was developed. The participants were asked about reasons for both willingness and unwillingness to donate their corneas. These reasons were stated in the questionnaire and the participants had to express their agreement by one of five options: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, or strongly agree.

Results

A total of 500 participants (218 males and 282 females) completed the questionnaire. The average age (±SD) of the study participants was 32.8 (±11.7) years. About 67.2% of the subjects were willing to donate their corneas, whereas 32.8% were not willing to do so. The main motive for willingness was doing a good deed by helping others to see. On the other hand, fear of the body being treated badly and that other organ might be taken than the ones specified for donation were the main reasons for unwillingness to donate corneas. The age of participants, gender, and the monthly income did not significantly influence the willingness to donate (P>0.05). However, the level of education had a significant influence on people’s decision to donate their corneas.

Conclusion

Many Jordanians have positive attitude toward corneal donations. Ethical factors need to be addressed to promote for corneal donation. In addition, increasing the awareness of donation and its benefits may help increase the supply of corneal tissues.

Awareness and attitudes toward corneal donation: challenges and opportunities

There is a severe shortage of donor corneas available worldwide for transplantation, with the number of patients in need of transplant greatly exceeding the number of cornea tissues available. Understanding awareness and attitudes about corneal donation worldwide is a critical step toward addressing this shortage. In this review, awareness of corneal donation and reported willingness to donate are summarized from 55 published studies across 13 countries. In general, many more respondents indicated positive attitudes toward eye donation and willingness to donate their eyes than the number of respondents who have pledged their eyes for donation, suggesting an unrealized potential of additional donors. Specifically, of 38,851 respondents across all included studies, 52% endorsed a willingness to donate their eyes after death, yet only 5% reported being a pledged donor. The most commonly cited reason for not being a registered eye donor was lack of awareness about eye donation. The disconnection between the large number of people who expressed willingness to donate and the scarcity of individuals who have pledged their eyes for donation could be addressed through educational media campaigns, collaborations with medical personnel, partnerships with grief counselors and religious leaders, use of social media, and educational sessions with medical students and staff.

Eye Donation Awareness and Conversion Rate in Hospital Cornea Retrieval Programme in a Tertiary Hospital of Central India

INTRODUCTION

Corneal blindness accounts for 6-8 million blinds in the world. In India, it is estimated that there are approximately 6.8 million people who have vision less than 6/60 in at least one eye due to corneal diseases.

AIM

This study was done to assess the awareness about eye donation amongst attendants of critically ill and deceased patients, their willingness to donate eyes, the efficacy of grief counselling by Eye Donation Counsellors (EDC), its impact on the conversion rate and the reasons for poor donation rate.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This prospective hospital based study was done in 554 participants (guardians of critically ill and deceased subjects) to understand the awareness of eye donation. Factors related to willingness for eye donation that influenced conversion to actual donation were evaluated. Data was analysed with tests for statistical significance: Chi square test; p<0.05 at 95% confidence interval was set as significant.

RESULTS

Awareness index particularly in males <40 years, was found to be statistically more. In participants who were partially/fully aware of eye-donation, time taken for motivation remained less than 12 hours, which was statistically significant (Chi square=106. p<0.001). Subject who were aware, willing for donation in comparison to those who were unaware in a ratio of 2:1. Grief counsellors (57.5%) had the most influence among the causes that were facilitators of donation.

CONCLUSION

Utilizing the services of eye donation counsellors is a promising way to motivate the guardians of deceased. Increasing the awareness in society, rendering simple assistances to next of kin and speeding the medico legal formalities can go a long way in increasing the conversion rate and hence actual donation.

Willingness to donate eyes and its associated factors among adults in Gondar town, North West Ethiopia

Background

In Ethiopia, there is a substantial mismatch between need and supply of corneal transplant. Although corneal transplantation service is affected by various factors, willingness to donate eyes is an essential indicator of its availability, accessibility, and acceptability. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of willingness to donate eyes and its associated factors, which help to develop appropriate strategies that can address this undersupply and unmet need.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted on 774 adults who were selected using multistage random sampling in Gondar town, North West, Ethiopia. The data were collected through interviews.

Results

In this survey, 774 adults with a median age of 30 ± 14.33 years participated. The proportion of willing to donate eyes was 37.6% [95% CI: 34.3%–41.3%]. It was positively associated with the religious belief of Christianity [AOR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.08–2.75], having awareness about eye donation [AOR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.01–1.92], educational level of high school [AOR = 2.90, 95% CI: 1.72–4.90], and College/University [AOR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.28–3.87].

Conclusion

The magnitude of willingness to donate eyes was moderate and positively associated with the higher educational level and awareness. It is, therefore, strategic to plan awareness creation programs to mobilize the community.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12886-017-0577-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Demographic Characteristics of Voluntary Donors Registered in Beijing Tongren Hospital Eye Bank of China: A Retrospective Study From 2007 to 2016

BACKGROUND

Lack of willingness to pledge eyes among the general population is the main cause for the shortage of cornea tissue in China. A few studies have implied that general-population adults with specific demographics showed more willingness to donate their eyes.

METHODS

In this study, we analyzed the demographic characteristics of 918 voluntary donors registered in Beijing Tongren Hospital Eye Bank in the past 10 years for possible predictors that might help us to identify potential donors in Beijing and increase the donation rate. All copies of voluntary eye donation application forms filled by the registrants from 2007 to 2016 were collected. Basic demographics listed in the application form were extracted for analysis. Demographics were described as proportions and compared by means of a χ² test. Besides that, donor counts and proportions of combining 2 demographics from the 4 main demographics were described and compared.

RESULTS

Voluntary donors greater than 50 years of age (n = 477, 53.0%) predominated the proportions. Regarding education level and occupation, donors with tertiary education (n = 484, 57.4%) were more numerous than donors with primary and secondary education (n = 355, 42.1%); office clerks, workers, and government officers were more willing to pledge eyes than were donors engaged in other occupations. In addition, donors of the Han race (n = 856, 94.9%) made up the majority and mainly were distributed in 5 central administrative districts of Beijing (n = 629, 77.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

The present study suggests that older women (>50 years of age), living in a central district, with higher education level and engaged in white-collar work, were possible predictors for potential donors.

Systematic Review of Community-Engaged Research in Ophthalmology

Introduction

Community-engaged research (CEnR) allows researchers and community organizations to partner together to improve health outcomes and to decrease health disparities. While prevalent in other fields of medicine, it is rarely used in ophthalmology.

Areas covered

A comprehensive search of Ovid MEDLINE, NLM Pubmed, Ovid Embase, Scopus and the Cochrane Library for the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) "Community-based participatory research" and text word variations including participatory research, community engagement, community research, partnered research, community-institutional relations, CENR, CBPR in addition to variations on ophthalmology, eye diseases, vision disorders and eye injuries yielded 451 unique references. Two ophthalmologists (KN, PANC) reviewed the titles and abstracts and identified 37 relevant studies. Expert consultation yielded an additional reference. After reviewing the full texts and excluding non-English texts, 18 articles met the necessary criteria. The eighteen articles all utilized at least one of the nine principles of CEnR.

Expert commentary

Ophthalmology is perfectly positioned to benefit from CEnR. Increased community engagement in ophthalmic research would expand the reach of our work and address some of the most difficult problems in vision disparities and outcomes.

Status of eye donation awareness and its associated factors among adults in rural pondicherry

INTRODUCTION

The value of anything is realized only when it is lost, one such thing is vision. Though all the causes of blindness can't be cured, corneal blindness can be reverted by corneal transplantation, for which a suitable donor cornea is required at right time. There is lack of awareness about eye donation among general population, so practice of eye donation is also lacking. Studies about awareness of eye donation among general population are lacking in rural India, keeping this in mind, present study was conducted.

AIM

To determine the awareness about eye donation and its associated factors among adults in rural Pondicherry, India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted at Rural Health and Training Centre (RHTC) of Community Medicine department. Total 196 adults visiting to RHTC were interviewed after obtaining informed written consent. Data were collected by investigator using pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire in local language (Tamil). The data were analyzed using epi info 7 software. Chi-square test was used for statistical significance between awareness and socio-demographic factors like age, sex, education, occupation, etc. Ethical permission was obtained before conducting the study.

RESULT

Of 196 participants, 80.6% subjects were aware about eye donation. Education and occupation had significant association with awareness. Main source of information about eye donation was television (65.2%). The employed persons had significantly more awareness about the correct timing to donate eyes. Education and occupation were found to be the predictors for awareness about eye donation.

CONCLUSION

Although the awareness is good in this population, the quantum of people pledged is very low. To make the dream of converting the awareness into pledging and procurement of eyes, the knowledge about eye donation is highly required.