Phacoemulsification: Awareness among Postoperative Cataract Patients in South East Nigeria

Objective: To determine the awareness of phacoemulsification among post operative cataract patients.

Methods: This was a prospective descriptive cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge of phacoemulsification among postoperative cataract patients that presented in community eye care outreaches in 3 local government areas of Anambra State Nigeria between June 21st 2021 to June 25th 2021.

Results: The total number of people that attended the outreaches during the study period were 975. Out of these, 167 participants had cataract surgery but only 155 (n=155/167) consented to the study, giving a response rate of 92.8%. The mean age was 67±13 years with an age range of 18 to 93 years. The male: female ratio was 1: 1.2. There were more females (n=84/155, 54.2%) than males (n=71/155, 45.8%).Majority obtained only primary education (n=74/155, 47.7%), while 20.6% (n=32/155) obtained secondary education, 14.2% (n=22/155) obtained tertiary education while 17.4% (n=27/155) had no formal education

Conclusion: Most cataract blind people in Nigeria are not aware of phacoemulsification cataract surgery and therefore may limit options for modern treatment of cataract blindness, even though this modern method of cataract treatment has been in place for decades in other countries.