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Editors Selection IGR 10-3

Public Health Knowledge

Comment by Robert Fechtner on:

26266 Poor public health knowledge about glaucoma: fact or fiction?, Baker H; Cousens SN; Murdoch IE, Eye, 2010; 24: 653-657

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Glaucoma is a significant public health problem as a major cause of preventable blindness. Some potential obstacles to entry into the healthcare system are presumed poor public health knowledge about glaucoma and the lack of symptoms from early disease. In this study, Baker et al. (551) explored through multiple survey methods public awareness and knowledge of glaucoma in the UK. The methods included a short structured telephone interview (1009 people), a more detailed telephone interview in two contrasting regions (500 from Isle of Wight and 226 from Ealing), and face to face interviews from Ealing (300 interviews). The methods and the limitations are well described and the findings challenge our assumption that public knowledge is generally low. The first major finding is that more people (between 71% and 93% interviewed by telephone) have heard of glaucoma than suggested by previous studies elsewhere.

To have any impact on health behavior we need a better understanding of the obstacles that prevent some from acquiring knowledge about glaucoma and those that prevent many more who possess some knowledge from obtaining timely diagnosis and treatment

However, face to face interviews in an ethnic minority population in Ealing revealed a much lower awareness (23%). This is in contrast to the telephone interviews in the same community where the awareness was 78%. Some possible explanations are offered, but it seems clear that pockets of low awareness exist and telephone interview may fail to reveal this problem.

Poor public health knowledge about glaucoma in the general population in the UK is not supported by these data. For those who heard of glaucoma, they had some degree of knowledge of the disease. Our assumption that public awareness of glaucoma is low may not be correct although there seem to be factors that lead to low awareness in at least one identified ethnic minority. We must not assume that late diagnosis is simply the result of lack of awareness. This study does not support that belief. To have any impact on health behavior we need a better understanding of the obstacles that prevent some from acquiring knowledge about glaucoma and those that prevent many more who possess some knowledge from obtaining timely diagnosis and treatment.

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