Low Uptake of Eye Services in Rural India

Abstract

THE PROBLEM of the low uptake of eye services in developing countries has taken a lower priority to more pressing needs for resource provision. Some evidence exists^1-5 that, even when eye services are available, they are underused by potential beneficiaries. If programs for blindness prevention, mainly targeted at cataract treatment, are to be effective, the reasons for low use need to be identified and appropriate strategies implemented. We investigated the uptake of adult eye services in an area of high service provision and explored the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of the local population toward eye problems and their treatment to identify the determinants of, and barriers to, the uptake of eye services.