A study on the awareness of cataract disease and treatment options in patients who need surgery in a rural area of Eastern China.

PURPOSE To investigate the awareness of cataract disease and treatment and to determine the major barriers for patients who need cataract treatment in a rural area of eastern China. METHODS A total of 251 cataract patients were selected by means of eye disease screenings throughout Jiangyan County. Questionnaires were administered after the doctor determined that the patient needed cataract surgery. The patient's awareness questionnaire was developed by Fletcher and clinically validated at the Aravind Eye Hospital in India. RESULTS A total of 89.6% of patients had been aware of their condition for more than 1 year. Only 49.8% of all patients had known for more than 1 year that their eye disease could be treated. The major barriers for those seeking eye treatment included residual functional vision (49.0%), financial problems (36.7%), no demand for the operation (8.8%), and skepticism about the operation (8.8%). Poor vision function grade and female gender were two significant factors associated with a longer awareness (>3 years) of the existence of cataracts. Patients with a history of eye disease and a longer awareness of eye disease were more likely to have known about the potential treatments for a longer period of time (>1 year). CONCLUSIONS The patients' awareness of the presence of cataract disease and potential treatment were unbalanced. The main treatment barriers were lower demand for vision improvement and financial problems. It is imperative to educate patients on eye health care and to provide low cost, but high quality, cataract surgery to these patients.