Why do patients refuse trichiasis surgery? Lessons and an education initiative from Mtwara Region, Tanzania.
Trachomatous trichiasis is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness worldwide. A relatively simple surgery can spare vision. Although this surgery is usually performed free of charge in endemic regions, multiple studies indicate that surgical refusal is common. Prior studies have attempted...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4e84548f2aa842c18107d5675f139129 2023-05-15T15:08:06+02:00 Why do patients refuse trichiasis surgery? Lessons and an education initiative from Mtwara Region, Tanzania. Katherine M Gupta Jennifer C Harding Majid S Othman Shannath L Merbs Emily W Gower 2018-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006464 https://doaj.org/article/4e84548f2aa842c18107d5675f139129 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6001945?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0006464 https://doaj.org/article/4e84548f2aa842c18107d5675f139129 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 12, Iss 6, p e0006464 (2018) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006464 2022-12-31T04:15:03Z Trachomatous trichiasis is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness worldwide. A relatively simple surgery can spare vision. Although this surgery is usually performed free of charge in endemic regions, multiple studies indicate that surgical refusal is common. Prior studies have attempted to examine these reasons, although they generally rely on patient recall months to years after the surgery was offered. This study set out to determine major decision-making factors at the time of refusal. In addition, this study looked for ways to help increase surgical uptake by targeting modifiable factors.We used a combination of focus groups, interviews with community health workers, and individual interviews with trichiasis patients who refused surgery to understand their decision-making. We found that several factors influenced surgical refusals, including misconception regarding recovery time, inability to find a post-surgical caregiver, and the time of year of the surgical campaign. Fear of the surgery itself played a minimal role in refusals.Trichiasis patients refuse surgery for many reasons, but a large percentage is due to lack of information and education, and is, therefore, modifiable within the structure of a surgical outreach project. To address this, we developed a "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) document aimed at community health workers, which may have helped to decrease some of the misconceptions that had led to prior refusals. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 12 6 e0006464 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Katherine M Gupta Jennifer C Harding Majid S Othman Shannath L Merbs Emily W Gower Why do patients refuse trichiasis surgery? Lessons and an education initiative from Mtwara Region, Tanzania. |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Trachomatous trichiasis is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness worldwide. A relatively simple surgery can spare vision. Although this surgery is usually performed free of charge in endemic regions, multiple studies indicate that surgical refusal is common. Prior studies have attempted to examine these reasons, although they generally rely on patient recall months to years after the surgery was offered. This study set out to determine major decision-making factors at the time of refusal. In addition, this study looked for ways to help increase surgical uptake by targeting modifiable factors.We used a combination of focus groups, interviews with community health workers, and individual interviews with trichiasis patients who refused surgery to understand their decision-making. We found that several factors influenced surgical refusals, including misconception regarding recovery time, inability to find a post-surgical caregiver, and the time of year of the surgical campaign. Fear of the surgery itself played a minimal role in refusals.Trichiasis patients refuse surgery for many reasons, but a large percentage is due to lack of information and education, and is, therefore, modifiable within the structure of a surgical outreach project. To address this, we developed a "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) document aimed at community health workers, which may have helped to decrease some of the misconceptions that had led to prior refusals. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Katherine M Gupta Jennifer C Harding Majid S Othman Shannath L Merbs Emily W Gower |
author_facet |
Katherine M Gupta Jennifer C Harding Majid S Othman Shannath L Merbs Emily W Gower |
author_sort |
Katherine M Gupta |
title |
Why do patients refuse trichiasis surgery? Lessons and an education initiative from Mtwara Region, Tanzania. |
title_short |
Why do patients refuse trichiasis surgery? Lessons and an education initiative from Mtwara Region, Tanzania. |
title_full |
Why do patients refuse trichiasis surgery? Lessons and an education initiative from Mtwara Region, Tanzania. |
title_fullStr |
Why do patients refuse trichiasis surgery? Lessons and an education initiative from Mtwara Region, Tanzania. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Why do patients refuse trichiasis surgery? Lessons and an education initiative from Mtwara Region, Tanzania. |
title_sort |
why do patients refuse trichiasis surgery? lessons and an education initiative from mtwara region, tanzania. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006464 https://doaj.org/article/4e84548f2aa842c18107d5675f139129 |
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Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 12, Iss 6, p e0006464 (2018) |
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http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6001945?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0006464 https://doaj.org/article/4e84548f2aa842c18107d5675f139129 |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006464 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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12 |
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6 |
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e0006464 |
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