SUMMARY
The authors investigated some characteristics and barriers of patients with senile cataract to be submitted to eye surgery at the Hospital das Clínicas of the University of Campinas. The study was designed to evaluate the number of visits to the hospital, the waiting time for surgery and the need for scorts. For a comparison of results, two cross-studies (in 1989 and 1991) were carried out by means of an interview questionnaire conducted with respectively 98 and 109 patients. The results show a predominance of males under the age of 70 in both studies. A full ophthalmological exam was performed when patient first carne to the hospital in 8.2% of the cases in 1989 and in 81.6% in 1991; 36.8% of the patients were submitted to surgery before completing a period of three months in 1989 and 75.2% in 1991. Organizational measures were set to ensure speed up care. When comparing results, a decrease in number of hospital show-ups occured, as well as time span between the first appointment and the surgery.
Keywords:
Senile cataract; eye surgery delivery; visual rehabilitation