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. 2022 Jul;34(7):1673-1685.
doi: 10.1007/s40520-022-02091-2. Epub 2022 Feb 19.

Application of Andersen-Newman model to assess cataract surgery uptake among older Australian women: findings from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH)

Mitiku Teshome Hambisa  1   2   3 , Xenia Dolja-Gore  4   5 , Julie Byles  4   5
Affiliations

Application of Andersen-Newman model to assess cataract surgery uptake among older Australian women: findings from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH)

Mitiku Teshome Hambisa et al. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: Although Cataract Surgery Rate is increasing, the availability of surgery is outstripped by the increasing number of cataract cases as populations age.

Aim: The study aimed to identify factors associated with cataract surgery uptake in terms of predisposing, enabling, and need factors in very old Australian women.

Method: This study used ALSWH data included 6229 women aged 79-84 to 85-90 years. Women were asked whether they had undergone eye surgery (including cataracts) three years prior to each survey. Generalised estimating equation modelling was used to determine factors associated with these surgeries.

Result: At baseline (2005), more than half of the participants either had undergone surgery (43.5%) or had unoperated cataracts (7.6%). Increasing age (AOR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.07, 1.15) and being current or ex-smokers (AOR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.29) were associated with higher odds of cataract surgery (predisposing factors). Women who had private health insurance had 27% higher odds of having surgery (AOR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.39) (enabling factor). Need factors of more General Practitioner visits (AOR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.09, 1.25) and skin cancer (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.17) also increased the odds of cataract surgery. Women who had no difficulty seeing newspaper print were more likely to have had cataract surgery (AOR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.23, 1.48).

Conclusion: Need factors are the major drivers of cataract surgery; however, predisposing and enabling factors also play a role, including access to private health insurance. This finding indicates some inequity regarding access to cataract surgery in the Australian setting.

Keywords: Cataract surgery; Health service utilization; Increasing age; Older women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare related to this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
shows the proportion of women reporting cataract surgery at each survey from survey 2 onwards (age 73–90 years)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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