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
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0301-4738.30708
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
[FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
|
|