Awareness about senile cataracts in rural patients and their approach to tertiary eye care center for cataract surgery in Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Background: In rural India, significant portion of cataract patients go untreated. Evidence suggests that this backlog is due to a lack of awareness and attitudinal impediments. Hence, the aim of the present study is to know the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding cataract surgery among rural patients who had attended a tertiary eye care center. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in the Department of Ophthalmology at Alluri Sitarama Raju Academy of Medical Sciences, Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, India. A structured, validated questionnaire containing 13 items was given to 300 senile cataract cases by interview technique. The Chi-square test was used for categorical variables and percentages were used for responses. Results: The mean age of the participants was 61.46 ± 0.44 years. Majority of the patients 218/300 (72.7%) were unaware of cataracts. Only 33 (11%) were aware of cataracts. A wrong attribution of their diminished vision to various other factors was noted in 49/300 (16.3%) of the study participants. A significant proportion of females (91.96%) and illiterates (85.8%) were either unaware or attributed to wrong factors than males (85.8%) and literates (50.5%), respectively. Half of the population – 158/300 (52.7%) had no idea about the treatment of cataracts. Conclusion: As there is a significant information and comprehension gap in the public regarding cataract blindness, there is a clear need for exploring the myths regarding cataracts and their surgery through various information, education, and communication programs. More emphasis has to be made on advance eye surgery so that quality care is provided.