Ophthalmology Research: An International Journal

Aims: To assess the self-care knowledge and factors associated with post-cataract surgery complications in adult patients attending the KCMC Hospital eye department in Moshi Municipal, Northern Tanzania.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Place and Duration of Study: Ophthalmology department at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, conducted between October 2024 to June 2025.

Methodology: Patients aged 18 years and above who met the inclusion criteria were consecutively selected and asked for written informed consent. Consented patients were surveyed face-to-face for post-cataract self-care knowledge assessment by using a validated structured questionnaire, which was assessed after clinical assessment of visual acuity and complications on day 1 post-cataract surgery, then at 2 weeks and 6 weeks post-cataract surgery for complication assessment. The required individual socio-economic details were obtained from patients.

Results: Among 219 patients, the majority, 52.5%, were males; the mean age was 67.42 ± 12.4; 71.7% were married, and 65.3% were literate. Patients with poor overall self-care knowledge were more likely to experience complications compared to those with good knowledge (P = 0.011). In multivariable analysis the presence of ocular comorbidities (aOR = 6.63; 95% CI: 1.94–22.69; P = 0.003)., Surgeon status with AMO (aOR = 5.16; 95% CI: 1.34–19.85; P = 0.017) compared to specialist, Level of self-care knowledge (Total) (aOR = 3.03; 95% CI: 1.34–6.86; P = 0.007) and poor visual acuity (aOR = 2.20; 95%CI: 1.06–4.55; P = 0.034) were independent significant factors associated with postoperative ocular complication.

Conclusion: Patients with poor self-care knowledge, ocular comorbid, and surgeries performed by less experienced providers were associated with postoperative complications. These findings highlight the importance of improving patient education on self-care, by use of a well-structured standardized teaching tool, thorough preoperative ocular assessments, post-operative teaching program, and provision of take-home instruction for all patients to reduce the risk of post-cataract surgery complications.