The methodology of the Melbourne Visual Impairment Project, a major population-based survey of eye disease on 3,500 randomly selected individuals aged 40 years of age and over in the Melbourne metropolitan region, is presented. The aims of the study are to determine the distribution and determinants of eye disease in an urban population; the impact of eye disease on visual function and the activities of daily living; and the accessibility of eye health care services in the community. All procedures are conducted according to a standardised protocol to allow for comparison with other population-based studies, both in Australia and overseas. Information collected from this study will be employed in the development of recommendations related to eye health care service delivery and establishment of priorities for future public education programmes and health research.
Objective:To determine the level of knowledge of glaucoma in a population-based sample, and its relationship to self-care practices.Design and subjects: A cluster random sample of the Melbourne population 40 years of age and older was interviewed. One thousand seven hundred and eleven residents living in five randomly selected Melbourne metropolitan suburbs, each consisting of two adjacent census collector districts.Measures: Questions were asked concerning respondents' awareness, knowledge and description of the disease. Respondents were also asked the year of their last visit to their eye health care provider.Results: Seventy per cent of the sample had heard of glaucoma. However, only 22% provided a description that demonstrated a reasonable understanding of the disease. A lack of awareness and knowledge of glaucoma appeared to be negatively related to self-care practices.
Conclusion: Serious deficiencies in the basicknowledge of glaucoma in the community was demonstrated. This has significant public health implications as only a small percentage of the atrisk population may present themselves for assessment and treatment. Informing the community about glaucoma is an important step in promoting preventative ophthalmic care and reducing visual impairment and blindness.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.