Perception of Refractive Errors and Impact of Corrective Treatments on Adult Patients Seen at a Tertiary Health Institution in South-South Nigeria

Aim: To assess the perception of refractive errors and impact of corrective treatments on adults with refractive errors (RE) attending the Eye Clinic of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar.

Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study of 650 consecutive patients aged 18 years and above who have been diagnosed with refractive errors. They were interviewed using pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaires made up of both open and closed ended questions. Data were gotten and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for IBM (version 20, SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA) after due ethical clearance and informed consent. Results were displayed using descriptive statistics and Chi square test was used to assess for relationship between categorical variables.

Results: Of the 650 participants, 441 were females and 209 were males with a mean age of 44.48 years. Only 30% had previously heard the term ‘refractive error’ and were able to state the type of error they had. Excessive reading (49.8%), Aging (44%), Hereditary (40%), Exposure to dust/smoke (31.4%) and Poor diet (17%) were the commonly identified causes of refractive errors. About 39% of the participants expressed a fear of even going blind from the perceived visual disability. Many respondents (88.0%) believed that treatment could correct their eye problem; 71.4% of whom expected that spectacles would provide such a correction permanently. About 54% of participants felt that the diagnosis of refractive error and the use of prescribed spectacles have affected their lives negatively while only 9.4% reported a positive impact.

Conclusion: Misconceptions about RE exist among the participants especially concerning the cause and prognosis of refractive errors. These issues could affect compliance, lead to false expectations from treatment and negatively impact the quality of life. Appropriate, individualised and sustained health and eye health education sessions are, therefore, recommended for all patients with refractive error.