Cataracts and refractive errors

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Why, cataracts are a leading cause of preventable blindness in the elderly. New methods of cataract surgery do not require a hospital stay. Many elderly people consider limited visual acuity a normal part of the aging process and thus not symptomatic of any disease, despite significant reversible disability.
Who. Elderly people .
How . screening by enquiry and observation, ideally making use of a visual chart or appropriate pictorial substitute .
When . frequency uncertain.
Resource levels required. Low for initial screening by enquiry or simple assessment of acuity, which can be done by trained primary care workers (venkataswamy, 1972;  medium for optometric examination; high for cataract extraction or corrective lenses, but there are ways in which this secondary-level medical care can be provided at relatively low cost in developing countries (WHO, 1984b)

Recommendation on use of screening early detection. Screening early detection is recommended in the elderly, not only as the opportunity presents itself but as part of routine periodic population-wide assessments of functional status, at intervals that will depend on local resources. Because many elderly people and those looking after them bo not consider blindness as pathological, we have categorized the early detection of this problem as an example of screening . early detection is recommended in other age groups through provision of services and education of the public to promote self-referral. People with diabetes mellitus should be under special surveillance for proliferative retinopathy, another connon treatable cause of blindness in adults. 

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