Emotional and psychological factors in patients prior to cataract surgery

Background: Cataract constitutes as the leading cause of blindness. Lack of information about the surgical procedure and results of surgery in cataract patients tend to show high levels of anxiety. Preoperative educational intervention planning is necessary to prepare patients for cataract surgery. The aim of present study was to identify emotional factors related to daily difficulties among patients having cataract.Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of 10months by means of a preformed pilot tested questionnaire on patients who had been screened for cataract in various eye camps and admitted for cataract surgery in the upgraded Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College, Jammu. All the questions were explained to participants in their local language for better understanding and those who were willing to participate, were requested to fill the semi-structure pilot tested questionnaire form with informed consent.Results: Around 75% of participants reported daily difficulties due to the ocular conditions, of which walking (79.6%) followed by doing housework (77.8%) were the most frequently reported difficulties. About 75% of the participants reported fearing the surgical procedure. Regarding the level of acceptance of cataract surgery 13.9% reported being very much afraid. With respect to the surgical procedure, doubt as to the outcome was reported by 22.2%. When cataract surgery was compared to other kinds of surgery, 31.9% thought it was better to undergo eye surgery whereas 48.6% had not given any opinion on the matter.Conclusions: Preoperative orientation is necessary in order to ease the suffering caused by surgery and render satisfaction with the treatment. Thus, patient should be prepared for the procedure, information regarding common outcomes and risks of surgery reduces anxiety and improves patient satisfaction following cataract surgery.