DR. ANOOP L

Dr. RAVI BYPAREDDY, DR. NIRANJAN R

Abstract

Aim:To study the impact of covid-19 pandemic on eye-care services at our tertiary care centre

Methods:Retrospective study was conducted on eye-care services provided by our tertiary care centre from January-2019 to June-2022. Monthly data on services rendered were collected. Descriptive statistics applied for pre-pandemic period and during 3 waves. Compiled data was divided into 3 groups,6 months prior to each wave. ANNOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test applied within and between the groups.

Results:Eye-care services rendered significantly declined during 1st and 2nd wave. Decline was maximum during wave-1 as compared to wave-2. Wave-3 had no significant impact. Services rendered 6 months prior to each wave showed statistically significant difference (p value <0.05). Conclusion: As there is a significant decline in eye-care services provided during covid waves, government and hospital authorities should bring effective initiatives to treat the backlog cases who were deprived of services.

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