Willingness to Accept Keratorefractive Surgery and Its Barriers Among Myopes at Eye Foundation Hospital Group, Nigeria.

Abstract OBJECTIVES The objective of the study was to determine the willingness to accept keratorefractive surgical procedures and its barriers to uptake of among myopes at Eye Foundation Hospital Group, Nigeria. MATERIALS & METHODS A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out at Eye foundation hospital group, involving consecutive consenting new patients diagnosed with any form of myopia. The research involved the administration of semi-structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focused group discussions, which were used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, willingness to accept the procedure and barriers to uptake of keratorefractive surgery. RESULTS The study involved 302 participants who were enrolled, and their ages ranged from 18 years to 57 years old, with an average age of 30.48 ± 8.44 years. Twenty-one percent of the participants were willing to accept the surgery if offered, 45% of the participants were not willing to accept the procedure while 34% of the participants were not sure if there would accept it or not. Participants with high myopia (chi-square p < 0.001) were more willing to accept keratorefractive surgery. Reasons for accepting to do surgery keratorefractive surgery were; tired of using spectacles/contacts (87.3%), career reason (11.1%), do not want to use spectacles (6.3%), beautification (6.3%) and leisure (1.6%). The reasons for not opting for keratorefractive surgery were; fear of damage (59.1%), lack of awareness (41.6%) and financial constraints (40.9%). CONCLUSION The willingness to accept keratorefractive surgical services in this study was low. The main barriers to the uptake of the services were fear of damage, lack of awareness and financial constraints and there is a need for patient education to improve surgical uptake.