Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #107002

Muhsin Sheriff, Dr, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health, Apt 134, 199 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, 6174809254, msheriff@hsph.harvard.edu

Using a cross-sectional study design 440 adult men and women over 25 years of age were interviewed using a questionnaire with closed and open questions. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed. Results showed that among those who believed gender affects chances of getting (26%), preventing (17.5%) or treating (20.9%) blinding eye diseases, females were perceived to have greater chances of acquiring (53%, p<0.001) them . Females were believed to have a lesser chance, though, of preventing or treating them. Decision making in preventing (64.3 %) or seeking treatment (75%) for eye diseases was mainly the domain of male/head of the household, even for eye surgery (63.6%). Decision making in way of water use by the woman in the household was reduced when it was for eye health. It was concluded that much as eye diseases have a gender component, this doesn't appear to be well recognized by this community. Decision making gender roles in the communities could be threats to equity in prevention and treatment of blinding eye diseases. However, there are opportunities too for public health eye care programs and formulation of evidence based policy on gender issues in eye care programs in rural East Africa.These will be proposed in the presentation.

Learning Objectives:

• To determine people’s perceptions on gender aspects in causation, prevention and treatment of common blinding eye diseases and to determine people’s perceptions on who takes eye-care related decisions in the households in Kibaha District of Tanzania.

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Gender

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation