Exploring the effect of cataract surgery on functional difficulties and quality of life (eCASE)

• To measure change in self-reported functional difficulties, stigma, participation in economic activities, and vision-related and general quality of life from before to after cataract surgery, among patients in Nampula Province
• To estimate the cost of cataract surgery in Mozambique (Nampula Inclusive Eye Health Project)
• To explore perceived changes in functioning among male and female cataract surgery patients with different functional difficulties
• To explore the extent to which cataract surgery and better visual outcomes modify stigma as it manifests in cataract patients’ socioeconomic life
• To identify the factors associated with changes in the following outcomes: self-reported functional difficulties; participation in economic activities; quality of life; stigma

The general goal of this study is to explore how cataract surgery affects individuals’ functioning across a range of domains, their quality of life and their ability to engage in a range of activities linked to economic productivity in Nampula Province, Mozambique.

The study will not only interrogate how we conceptualise disability when considering cataract patients, but also how we understand the overall impact of cataract surgery on individuals’ functioning and well-being.

A better understanding of how functional difficulties experienced by people with cataracts can change after surgery will be useful to help further our understanding of the relationship between eye health and other types of disabilities. This information will provide an empirical foundation for the development of specifically tailored eye health advocacy interventions and potentially make eye health programmes more disability inclusive in a cost-effective manner.