Abstract:
To examine the perception of farmers on their vision and the utilization of eye-care services.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among cocoa farmers at Mfuom, a rural
farming community in Ghana using structured questionnaires, and there was an assessment of distance visual
acuity using the Snellen E chart.
Results: Of the 185 cocoa farmers, 68% were males and 32% females. The ages of the respondents ranged
between 19 and 70 years with a mean age of 52.7 (SD= 11.70). About 37% had spent 5 to 9 years in farming
with 12% spending more than 30 years. The results revealed that cocoa farmers had a very poor perception of
their vision since 85.4% of them reported either poor or very poor vision as against the measured 31.9% of poor
or very poor vision upon visual acuity assessment. Only 26.5% reported seeking eye-care within a period of 2
years before the study.
Conclusion: The data suggests that cocoa farmers in the community have high negative perception of their
vision yet they make insufficient use of proper eye care services. It is therefore recommended that cocoa
farmers are educated on ocular health issues to help change their negative perception of their vision and
promote proper utilization of eye-care services.
