Door-to-Door Eye Health Education to Improve Knowledge, Attitude, and Uptake of Eyecare Services Among Elderly with Cataracts: A Quasi-Experimental Study in the Central Tropical Region, Myanmar

Introduction: Cataract-related blindness is routinely reported globally. This study aimed to measure the effect of door-to-door eye health education in improving knowledge and attitude toward cataracts and the use of eyecare services among the elderly residing in a rural area of Naypyitaw Union Territory, Myanmar.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study design that used intervention and control groups was employed in Lewe Township from November 2018 to April 2019. Stratified sampling method was used to select lists of patients diagnosed with cataracts via a township-wide prevalence survey of eye diseases. A total of 56 elderly people with cataracts were involved in each group. The intervention group received door-to-door eye health education for 3 consecutive months. The data were collected using pre- and post-intervention surveys. Descriptive statistics for general characteristics as well as Chi-squared tests and multivariate analysis of variance for significant differences between knowledge and attitude scores of the two groups were analyzed.

Results: Both groups represented similarities in socio-economic characteristics, pre-existing knowledge and attitude levels, and eyecare services use. During the baseline study, the mean knowledge score in the intervention group was 7.8 and after the intervention, it increased to 10.67. Attitude score increased from 4.51 to 7.55. Among the control group, the scores remained unchanged. For use of eyecare services in the intervention group, 35.7% of patients sought eyecare services before the intervention, but after, 85.7% accessed eyecare services. Among them, 78.6% were satisfied with the treatment outcome. Further, there was a significant difference in knowledge and attitude between the control group and the intervention group (p-value <0.05), representing a medium effect of the intervention on improving knowledge and attitude level.

Conclusion: Door-to-door eyecare education significantly increased knowledge and attitude toward cataracts and the use of eyecare services among the elderly with cataracts. Intervention might be effective in improving the use of eyecare services and reduction of avoidable blindness due to cataracts.