Awareness and knowledge about eye donation and the impact of counselors: A North Indian perspective

Knowledge of cataracts and eye care utilization among adults aged 50 and above in rural Western China

Background

Cataracts are highly prevalent in rural China, but patient utilization of eye care services is low. Cataract knowledge is regarded as an important factor in eye care utilization. Few studies, however, have been conducted to measure the level of cataract knowledge and its relationship with eye care utilization among older adults in rural China. Hence, we described cataract knowledge and investigated the relationships between cataract knowledge and eye care utilization among adults (≥50 years) in rural Western China.

Methods

A large community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2020 among adults aged 50 years and older in 73 rural villages in Qingcheng County, Western China. The participants underwent an eye examination at their village clinic to determine whether they had cataracts. Participants also answered a questionnaire about cataracts, eye care utilization status, and sociodemographic characteristics. The collected data underwent descriptive and multiple logistic regression analyses.

Results

The eye examinations revealed that 45.15% (675/1,495) of participants had cataracts in at least one eye, yet 90.67% (612/675) were left untreated. The average score achieved by participants about cataract knowledge was 4.91 points (total score was eight points). Correct knowledge about cataracts was positively associated with cataract screening and cataract surgery. Elders with better cataract knowledge were 2.21 times more likely to undergo cataract screening (OR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.54-3.16) and 5.61 times more likely to undergo cataract surgery (OR, 5.61; 95% CI, 2.87-10.98). More than half had three fundamental misconceptions about how cataracts should be treated, how much they should cost, and when they should be treated. Participants who did not have these misconceptions were more likely to receive cataract screening by 1.21-2.02 times and cataract surgery by 1.76-3.48 times.

Conclusion

There are misunderstandings about cataract treatment methods, treatment costs and timing in the sample areas. A better understanding of cataracts was significantly positively associated with cataract screening and cataract surgery. Health education on cataracts and regular eye examinations are needed to improve eye care utilization in rural China.

Knowledge about cataract and associated factors among adults in Yirgalem town, Sidama National Regional State, southern Ethiopia, 2020: a community based cross sectional study design

BACKGROUND

Globally, at least 1 billion people have a vision impairment that could have been easily prevented or easily treated. Cataract is the leading preventable and most treatable causes of blindness and bilateral low vision among adults. Despite being the leading cause of preventable and most treatable blindness, the lack of knowledge about the disease and its option of treatment is still a major barrier in reducing the blindness owing to cataract in the developing countries particularly in Ethiopia. Hence, the aim of this study is to determine the level of knowledge about cataract and associated factors among adults in Yirgalem Town, Sidama National Regional State, Southern Ethiopia, 2020.

METHODS

A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among randomly selected 599 adult's age 18 years and above from May 10-30, 2020. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected using pre-tested and structured face-to-face interview questionnaires. The collected data were entered to Epi data version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression was used to identify associated factors of knowledge about cataract. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) together with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was used to declare the statistical association between dependent and independent variables.

RESULTS

Of the total study participants, 379 (64.7%), [(95% CI: 60.7-68.6%)] of them had good knowledge about cataract. Age (≥40 years) [AOR = 2.29(95% CI 1.18-4.44)], Elementary school completed [AOR = 2.31(95% CI 1.30-4.10)], High school & above [AOR = 5.55(95% CI 2.81-10.89)], governmental and non-governmental employed [AOR = 5.62 (95% CI 2.78-11.38)], Merchant [AOR = 1.72(95% CI 1.03-2.88)], Positive Attitude [AOR = 3.85(95% CI 2.94-6.47)] were positively significantly associated with knowledge about cataract. Whereas, rural residence [AOR = 0.19 (95% CI: 0.12-0.31)] was negatively associated with knowledge about cataract.

CONCLUSIONS

More than one third of the participants still had poor knowledge about cataract. This implies that health facilities should be engaged and raises the awareness of the community and empowers people about eye care needs.