Barriers to Eye Care in The Klong Toey Community in Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

Abstract Background Visual impairment and blindness are major public health concerns worldwide, with significantly greater prevalence in low- to middle-income countries. Access to eyecare is limited for impoverished people living in urban slums. Discriminatory public health services persist in urban slums, despite the Thai universal coverage scheme providing free healthcare facilities. Objective To study the factors related to accessibility to eyecare among the socioeconomically deprived residents in Klong Toey Community, Bangkok, Thailand Study Design: Participants were interviewed and underwent an eye-screening program. The questionnaires included demographic information, socioeconomic background, healthcare coverage scheme, eye problems, eye care accessibility, and the Thai WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Characteristics of eyecare accessibility were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Results The study included a total of 313 respondents, of whom female 71.6% and 28.4% were male, with a mean age of 57.67 years, (SD = 0.73). Half of the participants had no access to eyecare (50.1%), with barriers of single status (aOR = 2.05, 95% CI [1.06–3.95]) and self-employed status (aOR = 3.24, 95% CI [ 1.12–9.44]). The barrier of not using the provided eyecare was a personal constraint (aOR = 2.64, 95% CI [1.48–4.73]). Most Klong Toey dwellers reported a fair quality of life according to WHO’s standard (73.4%), and the mean of the WHOQOL-BREF score was 85.82, SD = 0.63. Conclusions Half of the people surveyed had limited access to eye care, with restrictions due to single status and self-employed status. The impediment of not using the provided eye care on their matched healthcare coverage scheme was a burden of personal constraint.