Abstract:

Eye disease is a common global health problem that affects both young and old people. According to World Health Organization (WHO), the utilization of eye care service globally was 18% in 2014, while in Nigeria; the rate of utilization was reported to be below 25% as against the set target of 90%. This study therefore was aimed at assessing the perceived eye health-seeking behaviour of the residents of Ido Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. The study adopted quantitative cross-sectional method among 289 residents of three communities in Ido Local Government area, Ibadan. A self-administered validated questionnaire, was used for data collection. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistic (frequency, means and standard deviation) and inferential statistics; chi- square test and correlation co-efficient which was fixed at p<0.5 level of significance. The result revealed that less than half of the respondents 135 (46.7%) had eye screening in the past, 156 (54%) had eye problems in the past, while 82(52.6 %) of them visited hospitals to solve their eye problems and others were involved in self - medication, patronized traditional healers and use over the counter drugs. Chi-square test showed a statistically significant relationship between the age of the participants and their engagement in eye screening test. In conclusion, less than half of the respondents had eye screening in the past, while a large proportion of those that had eye problems visited non-medical facilities to seek eye care services. This indicates inappropriate eye health seeking behaviour of majority of the respondents. In addition, their perceived health seeking behaviour was influenced by their age. This study recommends that more public health education need to be done to educate the community on appropriate personal eye care to ensure positive eye health seeking behaviour. Keywords: Eye, Health-Seeking behaviour, Perceived, Susceptibility