Using primary care screening to detect eye disease in underserved populations

New research published in JAMA Ophthalmology has examined the extent to which underuse of eye care services leads to undiagnosed pathology.

As part of the study, a group of 1171 patients were recruited from primary care clinics serving low-income communities in Michigan, US.

More than half of the participants identified as Black or African American (54%), one in 10 described themselves as Hispanic or Latino, while around one in three (34%) listed their ethnicity as White.

Seven out of every 10 patients in the group had an annual household income of less than $30,000 US (£22,000).

Participants received a comprehensive eye disease screening assessment. They also completed surveys assessing their health and previous use of eye care services.

Among patients who had not had an eye examination in the past two years (which comprised 55% of the study population), 21% screened positive for glaucoma, 20% for cataract, 6% for diabetic retinopathy while 1% screened positive for age-related macular degeneration.

When asked why they had not attended an eye examination over the past two years, 28% pointed to a lack of insurance, 22% said they had no reason to go and 16% cited the cost of the eye examination.

The study authors concluded: “The findings of this study suggest that placing eye disease detection programmes in primary care clinics in underserved areas may improve eye disease detection and treatment, possibly mitigating needless vision loss in the US.”