Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33259555›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness and cataract surgery coverage among forcibly displaced Myanmar Nationals (Rohingya refugees) in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

A H M Enayet Hussain, Munir Ahmed, Jerry E Vincent, Johurul Islam, Yuddha D Sapkota, Taraprasad Das, Nathan Congdon, Lutful Husain, Gulam Khandaker, Mohammad Muhit and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 48% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.

A H M Enayet HussainDirectorate General of Medical Education, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Munir AhmedOrbis Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Jerry E VincentSeva Foundation, Berkeley, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-2907-9966
Johurul IslamCSF Global, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Yuddha D SapkotaInternational Agency for the Prevention of Blindness Southeast Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Taraprasad DasInternational Agency for the Prevention of Blindness Southeast Asia, Hyderabad, India.
Nathan CongdonOrbis International, New York, New York, United States of America.
Lutful HusainOrbis Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Gulam KhandakerCSF Global, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Mohammad MuhitCSF Global, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Mohammad Awlad HossainOrbis International, New York, New York, United States of America.
Danny HaddadOrbis International, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-6299-1984
L V Prasad Eye Institute · INMinistry of Health and Family Welfare · BDThammasat University · THThe University of Sydney · AUUniversity of South Asia · BD

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo determine the prevalence and causes of blindness, vision impairment and cataract surgery coverage among Rohingya refugees aged ≥ 50 years residing in camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

methodsWe used the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) methodology to select 76 clusters of 50 participants aged ≥ 50 years with probability proportionate to size. Demographic and cataract surgery data were collected using questionnaires, visual acuity was assessed per World Health Organization criteria and examinations were conducted by torch, and with direct ophthalmoscopy in eyes with pinhole-corrected vision <6/12. RAAB software was used for data entry and analysis.

resultsWe examined 3,629 of 3800 selected persons (95.5%). Age and sex adjusted prevalence of blindness (<3/60), severe visual impairment (SVI; >3/60 to ≤6/60), moderate visual impairment (MVI; >6/60 to ≤6/18), and early visual impairment (EVI; >6/18 to ≤6/12) were 2.14%, 2.35%, 9.68% and 14.7% respectively. Cataract was responsible for 75.0% of blindness and 75.8% of SVI, while refractive error caused 47.9% and 90.9% of MVI and EVI respectively. Most vision loss (95.9%) was avoidable. Cataract surgical coverage among the blind was 81.2%. Refractive error was detected in 17.1% (n = 622) of participants and 95.2% (n = 592) of these did not have spectacles. In the full Rohingya cohort of 76,692, approximately 10,000 surgeries are needed to correct all eyes impaired (<6/18) by cataract, 12,000 need distance glasses and 73,000 require presbyopic correction.

conclusionThe prevalence of blindness was lower than expected for a displaced population, in part due to few Rohingya being ≥60 years and the camp's good access to cataract surgery. We suggest the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees include eye care among recommended health services for all refugees with long-term displacement.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overBangladeshBlindnessCataract ExtractionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMyanmarPresbyopiaPrevalenceRefractive ErrorsRefugeesTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID33259555
PMCPMC7707460
OpenAlexW3108456421

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.