ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS ON GLAUCOMA AMONG GLAUCOMA PATIENTS & ITS IMPACT ON DAILY LIFE

Aim: To assess the knowledge, awareness on glaucoma and its impact on the quality of life of patients with glaucoma. Materials and method: A questionnaire was delivered to patients willing to take part,and have a regular visit to the ophthalmology department,250 patients who are diagnosed of having glaucoma and started on medical management with age between 40 -70 years were included in the study. Results: Among 250 patients who attended to the glaucoma department 58% were females and males were 42% with the mean age of 51.2 years (ranges40-70) of them. Among them literates were 32%, illiterates were 68%.82% patients in our study never heard about glaucoma before diagnosed as having glaucoma.65%of patients reported negative emotions, 85% were facing difficulties in daily activities due to visual problems,38% reported poor compliance to the treatment. Conclusion: Our study highlights that there is a need for improving the awarenesson this asymptomatic disease and reinforcement of knowledge and practice on proper instillation of eye drops among patients by counselling can help patients to adhere to management and follow up.