Current state of ophthalmic care provision for the population of Ukraine and Kyiv

Abstract

Purpose to examine the dynamics of staffing and resource indicators of ophthalmic care provision for the population of Ukraine and residents of Kyiv over the past 15 years, with particular emphasis on glaucoma. Materials and methods. The study was based on official statistical data from the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Kyiv Municipal Information and Analytical Center for Medical Statistics for 2008–2024. Bibliographic, statistical, and analytical methods were applied. Results. The overall availability of ophthalmologists in Ukraine decreased by 7.1 % and currently amounts to 0.91 physicians per 10,000 population. In Kyiv, this indicator increased almost 1.5-fold, reaching 3.1 physicians per 10,000 population, largely due to specialists employed in departmental and private healthcare institutions (30–60 %). Two-thirds of established ophthalmology positions are concentrated in outpatient and polyclinic facilities. The availability of ophthalmology hospital beds decreased by 50 %, amounting to 0.71 beds per 10,000 population (a 56 % reduction to 0.99 beds in Kyiv). The frequency of eye surgeries increased by 10.1 % to 86.1 procedures per 10,000 population, while glaucoma surgery rates decreased threefold both in Ukraine and in Kyiv (to 1.03 and 1.96 per 10,000 population, respectively). Conclusions. Despite adverse circumstances, ophthalmic care in Ukraine remains stable: although the availability of specialized physicians and hospital beds has declined, the accessibility and volume of ophthalmic services – including surgical interventions – have been maintained. A clear trend is observed toward shifting a substantial proportion of surgical procedures to outpatient–polyclinic and private healthcare facilities.