Impact of professional wrangles among eye care providers in Kenya on refractive error service delivery

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of professional wrangles among eye care providers in Kenya on refractive error service delivery. Methods: : This was a cross-sectional prospective study conducted between January-June 2022. The study participants included 100 optometrists. The data was collected through interviews. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants. Descriptive statistics were presented using frequency, percentages and with p-values. Thematic analysis was carried out for qualitative data. Results: : Out of the 102 participants, 37 (36.3%) were female. The mean age for the participants was 30.5 years with majority being in the age group 30-34 years. There was no statistically significant difference between the ages and gender (p=0.132). Most participants 82 (80.4%) had practiced for more than 4 years. There was no statistically significant difference between years of operation and gender (p=0.09). The wrangle themes included mistrust, monopoly, specialty and threat. The impact themes included confusion and wrong perception, poor service delivery and negative attitude. Conclusion: The burden of refractive error requires that professionals within the eye care should engage in team work. Professional wrangle impact negatively on refractive error service delivery and if such wrangles are not addressed appropriately then the mission for elimination of refractive error may not be achieved globally.