Prevalence of blindness in Western Australia: a population study using capture and recapture techniques
Aim: To determine the prevalence of blinding eye disease in Western Australia using a capture and recapture methodology. Methods: Three independent lists of residents of Western Australia who were also legally blind were collated during the capture periods in 2008–9. The first list was obtained from...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
British Medical Association
2012
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12696 |
| _version_ | 1848748149112307712 |
|---|---|
| author | Crewe, Julie Morgan, William Morlet, Nigel Clark, Antony Lam, Geoffrey Parsons, Richard Mukhtar, Syed Aqif Crowley, Margaret Semmens, James |
| author_facet | Crewe, Julie Morgan, William Morlet, Nigel Clark, Antony Lam, Geoffrey Parsons, Richard Mukhtar, Syed Aqif Crowley, Margaret Semmens, James |
| author_sort | Crewe, Julie |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Aim: To determine the prevalence of blinding eye disease in Western Australia using a capture and recapture methodology. Methods: Three independent lists of residents of Western Australia who were also legally blind were collated during the capture periods in 2008–9. The first list was obtained from the state-wide blind register. A second list comprised patients routinely attending hospital outpatient eye clinics over a 6-month period in 2008. The third list was patients attending ophthalmologists' routine clinical appointments over a 6-week period in 2009. Lists were compared to identify those individuals who were captured on each list and those who were recaptured by subsequent lists. Log-linear models were used to calculate the best fit and estimate the prevalence of blindness in the Western Australian population and extrapolated to a national prevalence of blindness in Australia. Results: 1771 legally blind people were identified on three separate lists. The best estimate of the prevalence of blindness in Western Australia was 3384 (95% CI 2947 to 3983) or 0.15% of the population of 2.25 million. Extrapolating to the national population (21.87 million) gave a prevalence of legal blindness of approximately 32 892 or 0.15%. Conclusion: Capture–recapture techniques can be used to determine the prevalence of blindness in whole populations. The calculated prevalence of blindness suggested that up to 30% of legally blind people may not be receiving available financial support and up to 60% were not accessing rehabilitation services. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:00:27Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-12696 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:00:27Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | British Medical Association |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-126962017-09-13T15:38:03Z Prevalence of blindness in Western Australia: a population study using capture and recapture techniques Crewe, Julie Morgan, William Morlet, Nigel Clark, Antony Lam, Geoffrey Parsons, Richard Mukhtar, Syed Aqif Crowley, Margaret Semmens, James Aim: To determine the prevalence of blinding eye disease in Western Australia using a capture and recapture methodology. Methods: Three independent lists of residents of Western Australia who were also legally blind were collated during the capture periods in 2008–9. The first list was obtained from the state-wide blind register. A second list comprised patients routinely attending hospital outpatient eye clinics over a 6-month period in 2008. The third list was patients attending ophthalmologists' routine clinical appointments over a 6-week period in 2009. Lists were compared to identify those individuals who were captured on each list and those who were recaptured by subsequent lists. Log-linear models were used to calculate the best fit and estimate the prevalence of blindness in the Western Australian population and extrapolated to a national prevalence of blindness in Australia. Results: 1771 legally blind people were identified on three separate lists. The best estimate of the prevalence of blindness in Western Australia was 3384 (95% CI 2947 to 3983) or 0.15% of the population of 2.25 million. Extrapolating to the national population (21.87 million) gave a prevalence of legal blindness of approximately 32 892 or 0.15%. Conclusion: Capture–recapture techniques can be used to determine the prevalence of blindness in whole populations. The calculated prevalence of blindness suggested that up to 30% of legally blind people may not be receiving available financial support and up to 60% were not accessing rehabilitation services. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12696 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2011-300908 British Medical Association fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Crewe, Julie Morgan, William Morlet, Nigel Clark, Antony Lam, Geoffrey Parsons, Richard Mukhtar, Syed Aqif Crowley, Margaret Semmens, James Prevalence of blindness in Western Australia: a population study using capture and recapture techniques |
| title | Prevalence of blindness in Western Australia: a population study using capture and recapture techniques |
| title_full | Prevalence of blindness in Western Australia: a population study using capture and recapture techniques |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of blindness in Western Australia: a population study using capture and recapture techniques |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of blindness in Western Australia: a population study using capture and recapture techniques |
| title_short | Prevalence of blindness in Western Australia: a population study using capture and recapture techniques |
| title_sort | prevalence of blindness in western australia: a population study using capture and recapture techniques |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12696 |