Visual Difficulties and Uptake of Optical Correction Among Malawians: Insights from the 2024 Demographic and Health Survey.

Among 23,095 participants, visual difficulty was significantly associated with age, education, marital status, region, and residence (all p < 0.001).

The prevalence of visual difficulty increased markedly with age, from 2.3% in the youngest group to 15.5% in those over 74 years.

Women, individuals with lower education, widowed participants, and residents of the Northern region experienced higher rates of visual difficulty.

Most individuals reporting visual difficulty were not using optical correction, including 70% of those with "some difficulty" and 67% of those with "a lot of difficulty" indicating substantial unmet need.