Noertjojo Kukuh, Maberley David, Bassett Ken, Courtright Paul
British Columbia Centre for Epidemiologic & International Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Can J Ophthalmol. 2006 Oct;41(5):617-23. doi: 10.1016/S0008-4182(06)80035-9.
Little is known about the level of general public knowledge in Canada regarding the risk factors, prevention, and treatment of major blinding eye diseases.
The study was a cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaires of patients presenting to 33 family practitioners' offices in British Columbia. We asked patients' opinions on the "value" of preventing blindness; the possibility of preventing cataract, glaucoma, and macular degeneration; the possibility of treating these conditions; and their knowledge of risk factors.
A total of 882 adults completed the questionnaires. Preventing vision loss was reported as one of 2 top health priorities in 28% of the questionnaires, more commonly by those with higher education and non-European ancestry. Overall, 69.2% reported familiarity with cataract as a cause of vision loss, 41.2% with glaucoma, and 20.2% with macular degeneration. Of these, 97.5% recognized the possibility of treatment for cataract, 91.5% for glaucoma, and 77.0% for macular degeneration, yet few respondents knew risk factors (amenable to intervention) for specific eye diseases. Men and younger respondents were more likely to report not knowing risk factors. Chinese-Canadians were least familiar with the association between smoking and cataract. Family history, probably the most important factor to help diagnose glaucoma, was recognized by only 23% of respondents.
Although loss of vision was reported as a major medical concern, there is little understanding of the risk factors for different eye diseases. The association of non-European ancestry and low educational attainment with poor knowledge of eye diseases suggests that innovative education programmes in primary and secondary schools and in non-English languages are needed to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices.
在加拿大，公众对主要致盲眼病的危险因素、预防和治疗的了解程度尚不清楚。
本研究采用横断面调查，对不列颠哥伦比亚省33家家庭医生诊所的患者进行自填式问卷调查。我们询问了患者对预防失明“价值”的看法；预防白内障、青光眼和黄斑变性的可能性；治疗这些疾病的可能性；以及他们对危险因素的了解。
共有882名成年人完成了问卷。28%的问卷将预防视力丧失列为两大首要健康问题之一，高学历和非欧洲血统的人更常这样认为。总体而言，69.2%的人表示熟悉白内障是视力丧失的原因，41.2%的人熟悉青光眼，20.2%的人熟悉黄斑变性。其中，97.5%的人认识到白内障有治疗的可能性，91.5%的人认为青光眼有治疗的可能性，77.0%的人认为黄斑变性有治疗的可能性，但很少有受访者知道特定眼病（可通过干预解决）的危险因素。男性和年轻受访者更有可能表示不知道危险因素。华裔加拿大人对吸烟与白内障之间的关联最不熟悉。家族史可能是帮助诊断青光眼的最重要因素，但只有23%的受访者认识到这一点。
尽管视力丧失被报告为一个主要的医疗问题，但人们对不同眼病的危险因素了解甚少。非欧洲血统和低教育程度与眼病知识匮乏之间的关联表明，需要在中小学开展创新教育项目，并使用非英语语言，以提高知识、态度和行为。
