title: Perceptions of Eye Health and Eye Health Services among Adults Attending Outreach Eye Care Clinics in Papua New Guinea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine how people attending outreach eye care clinics in Papua New Guinea (PNG) perceive eye health and eye health services.
  
  
  METHODS
  An interview-based questionnaire was administrated to a convenience sample of 614 adult participants across four provinces and perceptions of eye health and eye health services were recorded. Presenting and near visual acuity were measured and cause of visual impairment (VI) determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this sample, 113/614 participants (18.4%) presented with distance VI, 16 (2.6%) with distance blindness, and 221 (47.6%) with near VI. Older participants and those with near VI were more likely to indicate that it is hard to have an eye examination due to travel time, lack of transport and transport costs. Female participants and those from underserved areas were more likely to report shame and fear of jealousy from others when asked about their attitudes towards spectacles. Participants reporting that they were willing to pay higher amounts for testing and spectacles/treatment also reported higher education levels, higher household incomes and were more likely to be male. A quarter of participants (25.9%) indicated that they did not like having an eye examination because their reading and writing was poor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People attending outreach eye care clinics in PNG reported finding it difficult to attend eye health services due to transport difficulties and anticipated high costs. Negative attitudes towards spectacles were also prevalent, and negative perceptions appeared more frequently among older participants and those with less education.
authors.affiliation: a Brien Holden Vision Institute, Public Health , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia .|b School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia , and.
authors.forename: Anthea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burnett
authors.affiliation: a Brien Holden Vision Institute, Public Health , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia .
authors.forename: Mitasha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: a Brien Holden Vision Institute, Public Health , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia .
authors.forename: Prakash
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paudel
authors.affiliation: a Brien Holden Vision Institute, Public Health , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia .
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Naduvilath
authors.affiliation: a Brien Holden Vision Institute, Public Health , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia .
authors.forename: Tim R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Fricke
authors.affiliation: c Papua New Guinea Eye Care, Port Moresby General Hospital , Port Moresby , Papua New Guinea.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hani
authors.affiliation: c Papua New Guinea Eye Care, Port Moresby General Hospital , Port Moresby , Papua New Guinea.
authors.forename: Jambi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garap
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005139:Eyeglasses; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010219:Papua New Guinea; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015354:Vision, Low / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Barriers; Papua New Guinea; eye care; knowledge; perceptions