title: A systematic review of epidemiological literature on the eye health of marginalized fishing populations.
abstract: A systematic review was conducted in December 2013 to examine the extent to which health research has been focused on the eye health issues of fishing communities. We searched multiple databases to identify relevant citations, using a combination of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and text words representing eye health, fishing populations and measures of disease frequency. The search yielded only 4 studies, described in 5 articles. Three studies (one each in Turkey, Egypt and Spain) provided data on self-reported eye problems in fishermen or fishery workers, with prevalence ranging from 38% to 81%. There was only one study in the literature that objectively assessed the burden and causes of vision impairment and blindness in fishing communities. None of the studies examined availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of eye care services. We conclude that marginalized fishing communities are almost non-existent in eye health literature. Eye health needs of these and other marginalized populations must be identified and addressed in post-2015 health and development agenda.
authors.affiliation: Health, Rights and Development (HEARD@UNSW), School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Khabir
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Section of Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: B Zwi
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: J M Tarantola
authors.affiliation: Section of Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Bal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chand
mesh_terms: D004534:Egypt; D005128:Eye Diseases; D005398:Fisheries; D006801:Humans; D016272:Occupational Health; D015995:Prevalence; D014421:Turkey; D035862:Vulnerable Populations
keywords: Systematic review, Eye health, Eye care, Access, Marginalised groups, Fishing communities. 