Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate how knowledge and attitudes influence eye care practices and service uptake in Takeo Province, Cambodia.
Methods: :
Thirty villages were randomly selected from three districts of Takeo province. Men and women from age groups 30-49 and 50+ and parents of any age with children aged 0-5 years were surveyed. Questions included knowledge of eye diseases, attitudes to eye care, preventative practices and service uptake.
Results: :
Five hundred and ninety nine adults were surveyed (mean±SD age 45.3 ± 15.6 years; range 19-90 years; 64 % female). Participants’ responses to the question "have you ever heard of the following eye conditions: red eye/infection, blurred vision/refraction-related problems, cataract, trachoma, cross eyed, pteryguim, trichiasis, and eye injury/foreign body" were used to denote knowledge. The proportion of those who knew of each eye disease ranged from 97% (eye injury/foreign body) to 25% (trachoma). From 509 people (85%) who claimed knowledge of cataract, 47% did not know how cataract could be treated, 22% listed taking traditional medicine as a treatment option and only 20% listed surgery as the best treatment for cataract. The most trusted sources of eye health information were Health Centre staff (25%) and the radio (24%). 370 respondents (62%) reported having had an eye problem in the past but only 143 of those (38%) had sought treatment. 57% of those who considered medical sources as most trustworthy sought treatment from health centre staff while only 13% of those who most trusted lay sources did so (p<.001). Key preventive behaviours listed included using clean water (30%), wearing a hat in the sun (29%) and wearing sun glasses (28%). Among those who reported having regular health checks (n=64) 59% had never had an eye check (p<.001).
Conclusions: :
Attitudes to eye health clearly influenced participants’ service uptake. However, knowledge of eye diseases and appropriate treatment was generally deficient
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: health care delivery/economics/manpower