Indian Journal of Ophthalmology

COMMUNITY EYE CARE
Year
: 2007  |  Volume : 55  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 133--136

Barriers to the uptake of cataract surgery in patients presenting to a hospital


Upreet Dhaliwal, Sunil K Gupta 
 Department of Ophthalmology, UCMS and GTB Hospital, Delhi, India

Correspondence Address:
Upreet Dhaliwal
A-61, Govindpuram, Ghaziabad - 201 002, Uttar Pradesh
India

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�SQ�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.


How to cite this article:
Dhaliwal U, Gupta SK. Barriers to the uptake of cataract surgery in patients presenting to a hospital.Indian J Ophthalmol 2007;55:133-136


How to cite this URL:
Dhaliwal U, Gupta SK. Barriers to the uptake of cataract surgery in patients presenting to a hospital. Indian J Ophthalmol [serial online] 2007 [cited 2024 Mar 28 ];55:133-136
Available from: 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;type=0