Quality Of Life for Elderly Patients with Cataract

Abstract

Background: Cataract is the second cause of visual impairment and the first cause of blindness globally. Poor vision may result in an increased risk of falling and lower quality of life (QOL). Aim of the study: The present study aimed to assess the quality of life for elderly patients with cataract. Design: A descriptive research design was utilized to conduct this study. Sample: A purposive sample was equal 240 elderly patients with diagnosis of cataract. Setting: The study was conducted in the Ophthalmology out-patient clinics at Sohag University Hospital. Tools: Two tools were used for data collection in the present study, the first tool was an interview questionnaire consisted of three parts to collect the necessary data about elderly subjects include: Part I: Demographic characteristic of the elderly patients with cataract & Past and present medical history of elderly patients with cataract, Part II: The elderly patients knowledge about cataract and Part III: Elderly patients reported practice about cataract. The second tool was Quality of life for elderly patients with cataract. Result: The study results revealed that, 80.0% of studied sample had unsatisfactory knowledge about cataract, 60.0% of studied sample had inadequate reported practice about cataract, and 71.8% of the studied sample had poor quality of life. Conclusion: There was highly significant positive correlation between total knowledge scores and total QOL scores regarding cataract among he studied sample. Recommendations: The study recommend implementation of educational program for patients about cataract management.