Patient Participation in Free Cataract Surgery
Condition: Cataract
MeSH terms: Cataract
Study type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Summary: 
      Age-related cataracts remain the leading cause of treatable blindness in China. The
      prevalence of cataract blindness continues to climb due to the expanding elderly
      subpopulation. Surgery is the only available treatment; however, the cataract surgical rate
      (CSR) in China remains relatively low relative to affluent countries or certain developing
      areas. Studies have reported that the primary barrier to cataract surgery is financial
      difficulty, and this challenge could be efficiently addressed by reducing the surgical fee or
      providing free cataract surgery. However, the prices, availability and affordability of
      medicines or medical services to the poor in China require further improvement. Although a
      host of free cataract screening and surgery programs have been widely implemented in rural
      areas of China, free cataract surgery programs have rarely been implemented in
      financially-challenged urban China. Even in Guangzhou, one of the largest metropolises in
      China, many low-income cataract patients, a neglected cohort, continue to need cataract
      surgery. A program titled "care for your eyes, lighten your life", jointly sponsored by the
      People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality, the Bureau of Civil Affairs of Guangzhou
      Municipality, and the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC), has been initiated in Guangzhou to
      implement a program of free clinics in parks and free cataract surgery targeting the
      impoverished population living in urban China in 2012. After 3 years' exploration, the
      management mode of this program has been perfected, and approximately 4000 cataract surgeries
      had been performed on the low-income elderly.

      Although there are a large number of poor communities throughout the country, free cataract
      surgery programs in poor urban China are restricted to several metropolises due to limited
      medical resources and social overlook. Fully understanding patient satisfaction regarding the
      free cataract surgery program and understanding the patient characteristics of this special,
      neglected community may contribute to the improvement and the further expansion of the
      management mode of free cataract surgery programs.
    

Detailed description: 
      Age-related cataracts remain the leading cause of treatable blindness in China. The
      prevalence of cataract blindness continues to climb due to the expanding elderly
      subpopulation. Surgery is the only available treatment; however, the cataract surgical rate
      (CSR) in China remains relatively low (772 cases per million per year) relative to affluent
      countries (6000 cases per million per year) or certain developing areas (2672 cases per
      million per year). Studies have reported that the primary barrier to cataract surgery is
      financial difficulty, and this challenge could be efficiently addressed by reducing the
      surgical fee1 or providing free cataract surgery. However, the prices, availability and
      affordability of medicines or medical services to the poor in China require further
      improvement, according to the standards developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in
      collaboration with Health Action International (HAI) in May 2003. Although a host of free
      cataract screening and surgery programs have been widely implemented in rural areas of China
      in conjunction with a new national healthcare reform officially launched in 2009 to tackle
      high medical expenses, including promoting free medical treatments, free cataract surgery
      programs have rarely been implemented in financially-challenged urban China. Even in
      Guangzhou, one of the largest metropolises in China, many low-income cataract patients, a
      neglected cohort, continue to need cataract surgery. A program titled "care for your eyes,
      lighten your life", jointly sponsored by the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality,
      the Bureau of Civil Affairs of Guangzhou Municipality, and the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center
      (ZOC), has been initiated in Guangzhou to implement a program of free clinics in parks and
      free cataract surgery targeting the impoverished population living in urban China in 2012.13
      After 3 years' exploration, the management mode of this program has been perfected, and
      approximately 4000 cataract surgeries had been performed on the low-income elderly.

      Although there are a large number of poor communities throughout the country, free cataract
      surgery programs in poor urban China are restricted to several metropolises due to limited
      medical resources and social overlook. Fully understanding patient satisfaction regarding the
      free cataract surgery program and understanding the patient characteristics of this special,
      neglected community may contribute to the improvement and the further expansion of the
      management mode of free cataract surgery programs. In this telephone survey, the
      investigators aimed to investigate the characteristics of the low-income patients undergoing
      free cataract surgery, including patient demographics, patient resource, health conditions,
      reasons for choosing the free surgery, and overall evaluation of the free cataract surgery
      program.
    

Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Probability Sample
Study population: 
        A free cataract surgery program was jointly initiated by the People's Government of
        Guangzhou Municipality, the Bureau of Civil Affairs of Guangzhou Municipality, and the ZOC
        in May 2012. Guangzhou citizens aged ≥50 years with low income who relied on social
        subsidies were candidates for this activity.
      
Keywords: patient characteristics