DR. SUJIT BAHEKAR

DR. PRADNYA BHALERAO, Dr.Smita Pawar

Abstract

Background: In spite of being the second leading cause of preventable blindness in the world awareness of glaucoma is low. Aim: To study the awareness and knowledge of Glaucoma among the patients of a rural based tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This

is a hospital‑based cross-sectional study. A total of 673 patients attending ophthalmology

outpatient department aged 18 years and above were administered a

questionnaire after a written informed consent to assess their awareness and knowledge

levels of glaucoma. Subjects “having heard of glaucoma” even before they were recruited

for the study were defined as “aware”, and subjects having some understanding of the eye

disease were defined as “knowledgeable”. Results: Out of 673 subjects recruited for the

study, only 34 (5.05%) subjects were aware of glaucoma and 24(3.56%) had some knowledge of

glaucoma. Conclusion: Awareness of glaucoma is essential for early detection and prevention of blindness from glaucoma.

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