Publication:

A study of awareness and knowledge about cataract among students

Background Cataract can cause visual dysfunction ranging from mild to severe loss of vision. The rate of development of senile cataract is generally slow and the vision loss is usually gradual but can result in blindness if treatment is delayed. The main objective was to study the awareness about cataract among students (non-medical).

Methods A questionnaire based study was conducted among 430 students (non-medical). The questions tested their awareness about cataract and also about the potential ocular complications of the disease and the treatments available currently.

Results 65.81% (283/430) have heard about cataract. 50 students out of 283 students were aware about the basic facts about cataract. The rest 233 students have just heard of the term cataract. Overall only 11.62% (50/430) were aware about the basic facts about cataract. 34.10% (147/430) was not aware about cataract.

Conclusions The awareness of one of the leading cause of treatable blindness like cataract is low among students. Steps should be taken to increase the awareness about cataract and also about the various treatment options available for cataract. More focus should be on cataract in health education programmes.