Poor vision, refractive errors and barriers to treatment among commercial vehicle drivers in the Cape Coast municipality.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the relationship between poor vision and occurrence of road traffic accidents (RTAs) and the barriers to uptake of refractive error services among commercial drivers in the Cape Coast Municipality of Ghana.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted involving commercial drivers in the municipality. Participants underwent an eye examination comprising visual acuity, colour vision test using Ishihara pseudo-isochromatic plates, confrontational visual fields, external and internal ocular eye health examinations. Structured questionnaire were also administered to the participants to collect demographic data, history of driving and RTAs and utilization of eye care services as well as identification of the colours of the traffic light.

RESULTS

A total of 206 male drivers were interviewed and examined. Over 12% of the commercial drivers do not have the minimum visual acuity required for driving while 6.8% had visual impairment (VA < 6/18 in the better eye). There was no association between occurrence of RTAs and visual impairment (p = 0.050), visual field (p = 0.741) and colour vision defect (p = 0.343). A poor utilization of refractive error services was noted and the barriers to uptake of eye care services were largely due to unawareness of visual status. Refractive errors are the commonest ocular finding followed by cataracts.

CONCLUSION

There are barriers to uptake of refractive error services among commercial drivers in the Cape Coast Municipality. These barriers could be addressed by health education targeting commercial vehicle drivers at their stations.