Impact of cataract screening outreach in rural China.
OBJECTIVE
To examine differences between patients with cataract detected during screening and presenting to clinic in rural China.


METHODS
Subjects were recruited from 27 screenings and an eye clinic in the same town. All had pinhole-corrected vision < or =6/18 in > or =1 eye due to ophthalmologist-diagnosed cataract. Subjects were administered a previously validated questionnaire on barriers to surgery in four areas: knowledge (K), perceptions of quality (Q), transportation (T), and cost (C).


RESULTS
Screening group (SG; n = 120) and clinic group (CG; n = 120) participants did not differ from eligible, examined screening and clinic patients respectively in age, gender, or vision. SG participants were significantly more likely to be female (P = 0.002) and had a smaller housing area and less education (P < 0.001 for both) than those in the CG. Those in the CG were more likely to be blind (habitual VA < or = 6/60) in the better-seeing eye (P = 0.05) and more willing to undergo and pay for cataract surgery (P < 0.001 for both) than SG. In logistic regression models, SG subjects had significantly lower quality scores (P < 0.001) and better habitual vision (P = 0.02) than did CG participants, and SG subjects who agreed to cataract surgery (78.3%) had significantly higher knowledge scores (P < 0.001) than those who refused.


CONCLUSIONS
Screening outreach has the potential to ameliorate disparities in access to cataract surgery in rural China, as it appears more likely to detect patients with cataract with gender-related, economic, educational, and attitudinal barriers to surgery. However, education may be needed to convince screening subjects to undergo surgery.
Joint Shantou International Eye Center, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
Mingzhi
M
Zhang
Jing
J
Wu
Liping
L
Li
Daocheng
D
Xu
Dennis S C
DS
Lam
Jack
J
Lee
Sian
S
Griffiths
Nathan
N
Congdon
D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002386:Cataract / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014792:Visual Acuity