New research reveals top three barriers keeping children from cataract treatment in India

Published in PLOS ONE, the research also highlights the top factors that lead to care

The eye care nonprofit Orbis International announces its collaboration on new research published in the latest issue of peer-reviewed medical journal PLOS ONE. The research outlines the findings of in-depth interviews conducted with parents and caregivers across India that were used to determine the top barriers to accessing sight-saving cataract treatment for their children. The research also identifies the top enablers – that is, the factors that motivate families – for seeking care. An understanding of these barriers and enablers can be used to improve parents’ timely uptake of services for their children.

Study findings

The study found that the top three barriers were related to:

• Environmental context and resources, including cost, even when surgery was available free of charge, due to related expenses like travel and lost wages; local health facilities not offering screening programs to detect cataracts or surgeries to treat them; and stressors, such as lengthy travel to hospitals or wait times for appointments.
• Beliefs about consequences, including cultural beliefs based on spirituality and old practices, such as seeking care from local healers; concern about negative outcomes post-surgery; and a lack of appreciation for the importance of preventive eye care.
• Social influences, including cultural norms that give low priority to eye care for children; and social pressure for parents to try alternate forms of treatment, such as herbal remedies.

On the other hand, the study found that top enablers were related to:

• Social influences: The social structure of families and extended communities had a significant impact on whether parents sought cataract surgery for their children. A particularly powerful influencer was having someone available to support the parent or caregiver by accompanying them to the hospital or looking after their other children.
• Beliefs about consequences: Parents who realized the importance of eye care for their child were more likely to take their child for treatment. Doctor-patient communication at the hospital was also vital because of the opportunity it provided to reinforce the importance of early treatment to the parents directly.
• Motivation, goals and intention: When the parents had clear intention to provide early treatment for their child, they accessed the services early despite having economic challenges.