Abstract
Purpose: :
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the state of Hawai’i. It is estimated that approximately 100,000 people in Hawai‘i have diabetes; of which 25 percent of the cases remain undiagnosed. Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults ages 20 to 74. This study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile screening unit in detecting ocular pathology and other common medical diseases in the communities of Hawai’i.
Methods: :
A thirty-five foot motor home has been modified into a mobile eye screening unit. This unit reaches the community in various ways such as by attending craft fairs, sporting events, shopping malls, and neighborhood parks in areas with high percentage of homeless population. The various stages of the screening visit are facilitated by a registration/demographic data collection area, patient waiting area, a patient education area, and an exam area. The exam area has minimal lighting to facilitate natural dilation and is equipped with a Non-Mydriatic Retina Camera. The exam area also has a secondary waiting seat where the patient has an additional time to dilate in the dim light just prior to being seated at the camera. Data collected from each patient includes: general demographics, visual history, medical history, medical insurance, primary care physician, and current eye doctor. Visual acuity is also tested with a near vision card.
Results: :
Of the participants screened to date, definite ocular pathology has been detected in 10.5%, and questionable pathology is suspected in an additional 10.3%. The age range was 6 years old to 92 years old. The ratio of male/female was 46%/54%. During the first two-day weekend event, 169 participants were screened. Of these 23/169 (13.6%) had definite or questionable pathology. Within this group, 10/23 (43.5%) reported "no current eye doctor" which leads us to conclude their disease would not have otherwise been detected. Additional results were 156/169 (92.3%) had insurance, 11/169 (6.5%) reported no insurance, (2/169 did not respond to this question).
Keywords: diabetes • diabetic retinopathy • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence