Blog Write-up #4

Cataracts are something that most human beings cannot escape. A Cataract is a clouding in the
human lens which can lead to blindness or weakened vison. Most people get cataracts due to aging
regardless of genetics. Chances of getting cataracts are likely increased by smoking, consumption of
alcohol, sunlight, malnutrition, diabetes, and a variety of other factors. Cataracts are something that can
be easily fixed by a simple surgery. The surgery works but by removing ones lens and replacing it with an
artificial lens. The artificial lens is essentially like putting a permanent contact in underneath the cornea.

The study I recently reviewed looked to find peoples awareness and barriers that prevent one
from seeking medical advice regarding cataracts. The hope behind this study was to prevent cataract
complication and blindness. The study was carried out by a department of Jinnah Hospital (Pakistan) in
which 100 patients were asked a questionnaire about their knowledge of the disease or barriers. The
questionnaire was given out from January 2017 through March 2017 containing 13 questions. The
selected patients were already committed to come in for a consultation. Of the 100 patients, 61 of them
were male while 31 were females ranging from the age of 35 -95. The collected data was then plugged
into SPSS v18 for statistical analysis.

The study showed that 74 out of the 100 sampled patients had a low education level. The lower
education group was composed of 35 patients being illiterate and the other 39 patients had only
received a primary education which is equivalent to reaching middle school in the United States. Most of
the patients that were experiencing cataracts did not understand that cataracts were causing them pain,
blindness, cosmetic problems and other issues that they were experience. A barrier that was keeping
these patients from getting medical attention was the fact that they did not think that their cataracts
had fully developed. Some of the barriers found from this questionnaire were that patients either had a
fear of surgery, did not know that it was curable or had finical issues.

The studied concluded that general public needs to find a way to become educated about
personal health by either electronic media, paper, internet, general public lectures or awareness camps.
Regular eye exams/ checkups are recommended to be done annually every 6 months to keep tract of
cataracts.

As a studying optometrist, I think that everyone should be able to understand and stay up to
date with their own health. People need to understand that by continually seeing an eye doctor, many
other things other than cataracts will be monitored. Cataracts are unavoidable and in some places the
solutions may not be as taxing as one thinks. The patients in this studied claimed that finical issues
created a barrier for them not getting cataract surgery however, the hospital that they were attending
offered the surgery for 30-60 US dollars.

Reference:

Saleem S, Azeemi MS, Abdullah R. Cataract disease; awareness and its treatment among patient
presenting to ophthalmology Outdoor Jinnah Hospital Lahore. Professional Med J 2017;24(9):1420-
1424