Are we monitoring the quality of cataract surgery services? A qualitative situation analysis of attitudes and practices in a large city in South Africa.

Purpose: To evaluate the current quality "assurance" and "improvement" mechanisms, the knowledge, attitudes and practices of cataract surgeons in a large South African city.

Methodology: A total of 17 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ophthalmologists in June 2012 at 2 tertiary institutions in the Republic of South Africa. Recruitment of the purposive sample was supplemented by snowball sampling.