Noncompliance to spectacle wear among adults − Delta region, Egypt

Abstract

Spectacles are one of the corrective measures for different errors of refraction. A great proportion of people worldwide are blind due to having a high-refractive error while they neglect using the appropriate corrective measures. The aim is to study the prevalence of noncompliance to spectacle wear and its predisposing factors among adults with refractive errors in Menoufia and Gharbeya Governorates. A cross-sectional study performed in Menoufia and Gharbeya Governorates included 290 adults recruited from government and private ophthalmological centers. Data were collected through a predesigned questionnaire asking about personal data, ophthalmological data, measures of compliance, and predisposing factors to noncompliance. About 38% of the participants were noncompliant to eyeglasses wearing. Among noncompliant, personal causes represented 63.1%, followed by spectacle-related causes (22.5%) and financial causes (14.4%). Rural residence and illiteracy were significantly higher among noncompliant participants. Multivariate analysis revealed that secondary and higher education were independent protective factors against noncompliance. Noncompliance to spectacle wear was high and was significantly related to rural residence and higher levels of education.