Oculo-visual status of newly employed workers in a tertiary institution in Nigeria

Background: Visual impairment due to ocular diseases is a significant public health problem in many parts of the world including Nigeria. Worldwide, more than one billion people suffer from poor vision because they do not have the eyeglasses they need. Uncorrected refractive errors are a major cause of global disability and drastically reduce productivity, educational opportunities, and overall quality of life. Data is scant on pre- employment visual screenings in Nigeria because not many companies or employers of labor set this as a requirement for job placement.Objective: The purpose of this study was to report the oculovisual findings of new workers seen at a tertiary eye clinic.Method: Descriptive study. Two thousand one hundred records of newly employed staff of the University of Benin, Nigeria, who were employed between November 2011 and August 2014 were reviewed. They were examined at the Optometry Clinic of the University. Of the 2100 case notes reviewed, 1203 (57.28%) were males and 897 (42.71%) were females. Age ranged from 23 to 65 years with a mean age of 43 ± 2.1 years.Results: Refractive errors 25% and presbyopia 42.1% were the main visual problems recorded. The most common refractive error was hyperopia 26.8%, followed by astigmatism 21.3% and myopia 9.6%. Ocular conditions that were common among the workers were conjuctivitis 36.6%, corneal disorders 25.2% and infection 21.1%.Conclusion: Mandatory routine eye test is advocated for new workers, especially those in establishment or companies were good vision is paramount to increased efficiency and productivity.Keywords: Vision, workers, employment, eyes, screening