Year: 2026 | Month: April | Volume: 16 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 176-182
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20260422
Assessment of Quality of Life (QoL) in Patients Suffering from Cataract Attending a Tertiary Care Centre in Tripura
Monali Acharya1, Pragyan Prakash Gogoi2, Kanika K Baruah3
1Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Silchar Medical College and Hospital, Silchar, Assam, India
2Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Silchar Medical College and Hospital, Silchar, Assam, India
3Professor & HOD, Department of Community Medicine, Silchar Medical College and Hospital, Silchar, Assam, India
Corresponding Author: Dr Pragyan Prakash Gogoi
ABSTRACT
Cataract is one of the most important causes of blindness globally with the vast majority of cataract blind living in low-income countries. In India an estimated of 20 lakh new cases of cataract occur every year. Blindness and visual impairment pose an enormous burden not only on human suffering but also in terms of economic loss and social burden. Due to reduced productive activity blindness leads to poverty which affects the quality of life. The present study was therefore conducted to assess the Quality of Life (QoL) and psychosocial status in patients suffering from cataract attending a tertiary care center in Tripura. A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 cataract patients attending a tertiary care center in Tripura. A pretested and structured schedule was used to interview the study participants. Indian Vision Function Questionnaire 33 (IND-VFQ 33) was used to determine the quality of life in the cataract patients.
In the present study, out of the 200 participants, majority (49%) were between 60-70 years of age and most of them were males (67%). Around 37% of the patients were unemployed/retired and majority (52%) of the patients belonged to lower middle class. On assessment of visual function of the study participants using IND-VFQ33 questionnaire revealed that most of the study participants faced quite a bit of difficulty due to reduced vision, had to close eyes because of light from incoming vehicles, saw light as stars and had blurred vision. Feeling frightened to go out at night, less enjoyment of social functions and feeling of burden on others were some of the psychosocial issues that affected the study participants. Visual impairment caused by cataract affect general functioning, produce visual symptoms and cause psychosocial stress in the patients which ultimately affect their quality of life. Close family support and improvement of visual acuity by cataract surgery might be helpful in improving the overall quality of life.
Key words: Cataract, Quality of life, Indian Vision Function Questionnaire 33 (IND-VFQ 33)