Purpose: To evaluate which kind of medical care cataract patients have. Methods: The authors of the survey conducted 299 interviews with patients who took part in the "Cataract Campaign" on April 15, 2000. Results: Among the interviewees, 58.9% were males, and 41.1% were females, with an average age of 69.9 years. Our population consisted largely of low educational level people (89.5% between illiteracy and elementary school level), and 70.9% are economically inactive (retired, 50.2%; unemployed, 8.3%; housewives 12.5%). The kind of medical care most frequently used was public health service (87.0%); followed by health insurance companies (8.0%) and private care (4.9%). The main reasons reported by patients who had health insurance but had not used it for the surgery were: the companies would not pay for the surgery (25.0%), would not provide the intraocular lens (33.0%). Conclusion: We conclude that the target public in the "Cataract Campaign" comprises low educational level individuals, most of them economically inactive. Even those who have health insurance seek for help in the campaign due to the lack of economical conditions. In the conditions of this study, the "Cataract Campaign" does not attract people who can pay for the surgery.
Cataract; Visual acuity; Medical assistance; Socioeconomic factors; Community health services; Human; Aged
