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Adherence to topical glaucoma therapy in patients attending virtual clinics

Eye volume 37, pages 1922–1927 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/objectives

Poor adherence to medical therapy is a major challenge to the effective treatment of chronic diseases including glaucoma. Potential factors influencing adherence include treatment complexity and patient understanding of disease and health beliefs. An increasing number of patients are seen in virtual clinics, where there is no face-to-face consultation, potentially reducing opportunities for patient education and reinforcement of the importance of treatment. The aim of this study was to examine adherence among patients attending a virtual glaucoma clinic.

Methods

100 consecutive patients attending the virtual clinic were surveyed, with 78 using topical medications included in the analysis. All patients completed a validated adherence questionnaire with a score of >2 defined as poor adherence. The relationship between adherence and age, sex, duration since diagnosis, and disease severity was examined.

Results

The mean age was 73.1 ± 13.4 years, with an average mean deviation of −5.9 ± 5.5 dB and duration since first diagnosis of 9.0 ± 5.7 years. 93.6% reported self-instilling eye drops. Seventy-one patients (91.0 %) had good self-reported adherence. Multivariate logistic regression revealed those instilling eye drops independently had higher odds of good adherence.

Conclusions

The level of medication adherence in the virtual glaucoma clinic was higher than adherence in previous studies examining patients attending face-to-face clinics. Virtual clinics should incorporate methods to ensure effective two-way communication with patients and strategies for patient education.

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Fig. 1: Questionnaire including the Adapted Morisky Adherence Scale.
Fig. 2: Distribution of adherence scores.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

Dr A. Tatham is supported by an NHS Scotland Research Clinician grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, Edinburgh, EH16 5XR, UK

    Kelvin K. W. Cheng, Su Ling Young, Sarah Donaldson, Tej Rene Malcolm & Andrew J. Tatham

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  1. Kelvin K. W. Cheng
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  2. Su Ling Young
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  5. Andrew J. Tatham
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Contributions

KC: Acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, manuscript drafting and revision. SLY: Acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, manuscript drafting and revision. SD: Study conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, manuscript drafting and revision. TM: Study conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, manuscript drafting and revision. AT: Study conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, manuscript drafting and revision. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew J. Tatham.

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Competing interests

AJT. Consultant/Advisor (C) - Allergan, Santen, Théa, Glaukos. Lecture Fees – Allergan, Santen, Heidelberg Engineering, Glaukos, Novartis. Grant Support – Allergan, Novartis. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Cheng, K.K.W., Young, S.L., Donaldson, S. et al. Adherence to topical glaucoma therapy in patients attending virtual clinics. Eye 37, 1922–1927 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-022-02277-y

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