SUMMARY
Noncompliance is a major problem in chronic diseases such as glaucoma. In addition to the technical aspects associated with noncompliance, a number of social and cultural aspects may influence directly one 's adherence to treatment. Among these factors, we emphasize the knowledge about the disease. One hundred glaucoma patients were interviewed at the Hospital das Clínicas of UNICAMP, and submitted to a questionnaire including questions about glaucoma and its treatment. Thirty eight percent of the patients did not know they had glaucoma, only 8% knew the side-effects of medications, 38% did not know why they were taking medications, and 34% did not know why it is important to treat glaucoma. Patients ' knowledge about glaucoma and its treatment can be considered unsatisfactory. The authors suggest that an educational plan should be routinely applied to glaucoma patients in order to increase compliance and reduce the chances of glaucoma progression.