author = {Dhaliwal, Upreet. and Gupta, Sunil.}, title = {{Barriers to the uptake of cataract surgery in patients presenting to a hospital}}, journal ={Indian Journal of Ophthalmology}, volume ={55}, number ={2}, pages = {133-136}, doi = {10.4103/0301-4738.30708}, year = {2007}, abstract ={Purpose: To assess the barriers for the acceptance of surgery among patients with cataract and visual disability. Materials and Methods: A short-term descriptive study was conducted in patients with cataract presenting to a hospital. Socio-demographic data were entered in a proforma. An interviewer-assisted questionnaire, surveying knowledge about cataract and barriers to cataract surgery, was administered by one of the authors (SKG) in the local language (Hindi). Results: There were 100 patients (53 men and 47 women); 14 were bilaterally blind (vision <10/200 in the better eye). Attitudinal barriers included: could manage daily work (71%), cataract not mature (68%), could see clearly with the other eye (64%), too busy (57%), female gender (37%), fear of surgery (34%), fear of surgery causing blindness (33%) or death (13%), old age (33%), it is God's will (29%) and worry about cost of surgery (27%). The barriers relating to service delivery, cost, and affordability included: insufficient family income (76%), not knowing another person who had undergone cataract surgery (26%), no one to accompany (20%), distance from hospital (20%) or from a main road (9%) and lack of transport (7%). Conclusions: Attitudinal barriers were reported more often, rather than issues of accessibility or cost. Eye care providers should address the identified barriers for increasing acceptance of surgery in the study area.}, URL ={https://journals.lww.com/ijo/pages/default.aspx/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=2007;volume=55;issue=2;spage=133;epage=136;aulast=Dhaliwal;t=6}, eprint ={https://journals.lww.com/ijo/pages/default.aspx/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=2007;volume=55;issue=2;spage=133;epage=136;aulast=Dhaliwal;t=6} }