To greater family commitments, the non-statistically significant difference in eye care utilisation between those with a large house size and those with a small size in this study may imply that this assumption does not apply to this population, in which most participants were of lower socio-economic status. Further, the lack of statistically significant difference between eye care utilisation amongst those with eye problems, compared to those without, may be attributed to the fact that other means of management wcs.1183 PMid:16775910, PMCid:2569369 6. Chandrashekar TS, Bhat HV, Pai RV, Nair SK. Coverage, utilization and barriers to cataract surgical services in rural South India. Results from a population based study. Pub Health. 2007;121(2):130?36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe. 2006.07.027, PMid:17215012 7. Owsley C, McGwin G, Scilley K, Girkin C, Phillips J, Searcey K. Perceived barriers to care and attitudes about vision and eye care: Focus groups with older African Americans and eye care providers. Invest CPI-455 web Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2006;47(7):2797?2802. http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/iovs.06-0107 8. Dhaliwal U, Gupta S. Barriers to uptake of cataract surgery in patients presenting to a hospital. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2007;55(2):133?36. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ 0301-4738.30708, PMid:17322604 9. Palagyi A, Ramke J, du Toit R, Brian G. Eye care in Timor-Leste: A population ased study of utilization and barriers. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2008;36(1):47?3. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9071. 2007.01645.x 10. Bhagwan J, Rastogi I, Malik J, Dhull C. Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding cataract surgery among severe cataract cases in Hanyana. Indian J Com Med. 2006;31:66?8. 11. Patel D, Baker.To greater family commitments, the non-statistically significant difference in eye care utilisation between those with a large house size and those with a small size in this study may imply that this assumption does not apply to this population, in which most participants were of lower socio-economic status. Further, the lack of statistically significant difference between eye care utilisation amongst those with eye problems, compared to those without, may be attributed to the fact that other means of management journal.pone.0077579 such as traditional methods are used by the participants, as this is common amongst rural residents.20 Although, consumer dissatisfaction has been considered to be a barrier in sustaining eye care utilisation,4,11 in this study, many respondents (59.3 ) were satisfied with the services received at the government eye care facilities and the ratings of their satisfaction was over 90 at one site (p < 0.05). This is of interest, as these good satisfaction and ratings would enhance utilisation of services, which would reduce the risks of visual impairment. However, a minority were dissatisfied because of the long queues and long waiting lists. Also, it was noted that satisfaction and ratings differed significantly from one hospital area to the other (p < 0.05). This may be related to the differences in quality of services offered; therefore government needs to look into the reasons for such differences.doi:10.4102/phcfm.v4i1.Page 7 ofOriginal ResearchLimitations of the studyThis is a quantitative study and quantitative studies have their inherent limitations, which may manifest in this study; however, they are recognised to have a key role to play in the development of new knowledge, generating questions and hypotheses that could form the basis for further research.27 Another limitation in this study is that participants left some questions unanswered, which led to variation in the number of respondents for the various questions in the study. Furthermore, as the study was carried out amongst those living close to the hospitals, the results cannot be generalised to all those living in the rural areas of the district or province.5. Ashaye A, Ajuwon A, Adeoti C. Perceptions of blindness and blinding conditions in rural communities. J Nat Med Assoc. 2006;98(6):887?93. wcs.1183 PMid:16775910, PMCid:2569369 6. Chandrashekar TS, Bhat HV, Pai RV, Nair SK. Coverage, utilization and barriers to cataract surgical services in rural South India. Results from a population based study. Pub Health. 2007;121(2):130?36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe. 2006.07.027, PMid:17215012 7. Owsley C, McGwin G, Scilley K, Girkin C, Phillips J, Searcey K. Perceived barriers to care and attitudes about vision and eye care: Focus groups with older African Americans and eye care providers. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2006;47(7):2797?2802. http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/iovs.06-0107 8. Dhaliwal U, Gupta S. Barriers to uptake of cataract surgery in patients presenting to a hospital. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2007;55(2):133?36. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ 0301-4738.30708, PMid:17322604 9. Palagyi A, Ramke J, du Toit R, Brian G. Eye care in Timor-Leste: A population ased study of utilization and barriers. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2008;36(1):47?3. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9071. 2007.01645.x 10. Bhagwan J, Rastogi I, Malik J, Dhull C. Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding cataract surgery among severe cataract cases in Hanyana. Indian J Com Med. 2006;31:66?8. 11. Patel D, Baker.