| Summary: | Toyba Mohammed Ahmed,1 Ketemaw Zewdu Demilew,2 Melkamu Temeselew Tegegn,2 Mohammed Seid Hussen2 1School of Nursing and Midwifery, Wollo University, South Wollo, Dessie, Ethiopia; 2Department of Optometry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Melkamu Temeselew TegegnDepartment of Optometry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, POB − 196, Gondar, EthiopiaTel +251947304125Email melkamuopta@gmail.comPurpose: The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of use of eye care service and associated factors among adult diabetic patients attending diabetic clinics in two referral hospitals, Northeast Ethiopia, 2020.Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample size of 546 at Dessie and Debre-Birhan Comprehensive Specialized Hospitals from July 06 to August 14/2020. Systematic random sampling with a sampling fraction of 2 was employed to select study participants at outpatient departments in diabetic clinics. A pre-tested structured questionnaire, checklist, and visual acuity chart were used to collect the data. The collected data were entered into EPI-data version 4.4 and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Binary logistic regression was fitted to identify the possible factors associated with the outcome variable, and the strength of association was expressed using an adjusted odds ratio at a 95% confidence interval. Variables with p-values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: A total of 531 adult patients with diabetes participated with a response rate of 97.3%. In this study, the proportion of use of eye care service within the past 1 year was 31.5% (95% CI: 27.5, 35.4). Age from 40 to 64 years (AOR=2.86, 95% CI; 1.43,5.70) and > 65 years (AOR=3.15, 95% CI: 1.32,7.50), duration of diabetes 6– 10 years (AOR=2.15, 95% CI: 1.26, 3.69) and > 11 years (AOR=2.93, 95% CI: 1.51, 5.69), presence of visual symptoms (AOR=3.12, 95% CI: 1.56, 6.18), good attitude on the need of a regular eye checkup (AOR=2.87, 95% CI: 1.68, 4.94), and good knowledge about diabetic ocular complication (AOR=2.29, 95% CI: 1.33, 3.94) were positively associated with the use of eye care service.Conclusion: The proportion of use of eye care service among adult diabetic patients was low. The use of eye care service was significantly and independently associated with older age, longer duration of diabetes, presence of visual symptoms, good attitude on the need of a regular eye checkup, and good knowledge about diabetic ocular complication. We recommend that the patients with diabetes should be taught about diabetic ocular complications and the importance of regular eye check-ups by health professionals to increase utilization of eye care services by patients with diabetes.Keywords: diabetes mellitus, use of eye care service, Northeast Ethiopia
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