Health literacy moderates the link between health perception and surgical fear in cataract patients

Health literacy significantly moderated the association between health perception and surgical fear among 225 patients awaiting cataract surgery, according to the study abstract. Patients with low health literacy who reported lower health perception also had greater surgical fear, while no significant association was observed between those factors among patients with high health literacy. The findings are observational and do not establish that health literacy or health perception caused changes in fear.

The descriptive, correlational study was conducted at a university hospital’s eye clinic between April and August 2025. Before surgery, researchers collected data through face-to-face interviews using a personal information form and scales measuring surgical fear, health perception and health literacy. The reported mean scores were 6.38 ± 10.98 for surgical fear, 51.35 ± 4.98 for health perception and 95.44 ± 19.08 for health literacy.

No significant correlation was observed between surgical fear and either health perception or health literacy. Health perception and health literacy, however, had a strong positive correlation. A moderation analysis showed that health literacy significantly modified the relationship between health perception and surgical fear. Simple slope analysis indicated that lower health perception was associated with higher surgical fear among patients with low health literacy, whereas the association was not significant among those with high health literacy.

The results are limited by the descriptive, correlational design, the sample of 225 patients recruited from one university hospital’s eye clinic and the preoperative timing of data collection. The abstract does not provide details about participant characteristics, scale interpretation, model specifications, potential confounding factors or clinical outcomes. It also does not report whether surgical fear or health literacy affected compliance, recovery or other postoperative results. The authors suggest that health literacy levels may be relevant to tailored preoperative communication and counselling for cataract surgery, but the study did not test such strategies or their effects.

Subject of Research: Moderation of the association between health perception and surgical fear by health literacy in preoperative cataract patients

Article Title: Examining the moderating role of health literacy in the relationship between surgical fear and health perception in cataract surgery

Article References: Gülşen, M., Ünal, Z., Binokay, H., & Arslan, S. (2026). Examining the moderating role of health literacy in the relationship between surgical fear and health perception in cataract surgery. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15716-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-15716-3

Keywords: cataract surgery, health literacy, surgical fear, health perception, preoperative care, moderation analysis, observational study, university hospital, Examining, moderating, role, health