Cataract is the opacification of the normally clear lens of the eye. Aim: to determine the educational needs of patients with cataract, to design nursing guidelines and to evaluate the effect of designed nursing guidelines on patient outcomes. Subjects and methods: the study was conducted in the ophthalmic department at Assiut university hospital. Study design: Quasi-experimental research design was utilized in this study. Tools: three tools was used, tool one patient with cataract assessment, it was divided into two parts concerning: patients` socio-demographic data, assessment patient's knowledge, tool two designed nursing guidelines, tool three post operative complications for assessment patients with cataract observation checklist. Results: the majority of both the study and control groups (60.0% and 66.7%) were female, (73.4%, 33.3%) were illiterate, (56.7% and 63.3%) were house wife, (43.3%, 60.0%) their ages were between 41-60 years of age, The results also revealed that, there was significant statistical difference between pre and post application of guidelines for the study group
Conclusions: knowledge level of the study group patients after application of nursing guidelines was higher than knowledge level of control group. Recommendation: Providing a written instruction booklet is of great important for the patients before discharge to minimize postoperative complications