Assessment of the Cataract Surgical Coverage among People Aged 50 years and above Residing in Urban Slums of Raipur City, Chhattisgarh

Background: Cataract is the leading cause of avoidable blindness in most parts of the developing world, including India. Cataract surgery is a cost-effective intervention in eye care. Cataract surgical coverage measures the proportion of individuals (or eyes) with operable cataract have accessed services. The aims of this study were to assess the cataract surgical coverage and to identify the barriers to cataract surgery among people aged 50 years and above residing in urban slums of Raipur city, Chhattisgarh. Methods: A community based, cross-sectional study was conducted in 30 selected clusters (urban slums) of Raipur city during June 2010 to March 2011. People aged 50 years and above were interviewed, tested for visual acuity and their eyes examined by house to house visits. The persons who were bilaterally blind because of unoperated cataract were asked the reasons why cataract operation was not done, to find out barriers to cataract surgery. Results: A total of 895 subjects examined, of whom 51.4% were males. The prevalence of cataract surgery was 23.5%. Cataract surgical coverage among the cataract blind (<6/60) persons was 94.1%. Coverage was associated with literacy; age and sex were not significant predictors. Cost was the main barriers to cataract surgery in this study population. Conclusions: The Cataract Surgical Coverage was high in study area. However, it can be further increased by improving health education of community. There is need of an affordable and effective (high quality) cataract surgical services in study area to increase uptake of cataract surgery.