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GEOGRAPHICAL ASPECTS ON EYE DISEASES IN A SPARSELY POPULATED AREA OF NORTHERN SWEDEN
Author(s) -
LINNER ERIK
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1973.tb06008.x
Subject(s) - optometry , medicine , geography , welfare , demography , political science , law , sociology
The influence on an eye clinic of the geographical factor of great distance was analyzed. In comparison to the number of patients living close to the eye clinic, fewer patients came to the eye clinic from remote areas. The results were similar for patients with senile cataract, glaucoma, and motility disturbances. Diabetics, on the other hand, did not show the same geographical difference. The legal requirement that an ophthalmological examination be obtained before a driver's licence will be granted in these cases was suggested as a possible explanation. The geographical barrier indicated by this study was present in spite of the fact that Social Welfare pays the patients' travel expenses, and the patients themselves pay 5–10 Swedish crowns for a visit to the hospital.