Abstract
Purpose :
Preschool vision screening programs have reported variable rates of parents obtaining follow-up eye exams after a child meets referral criteria. We performed a retrospective observational study to explore whether there are associations between demographic factors and whether a child receives follow-up eye care after a referral is made.
Methods :
Anonymized clinical exam data were collected on children who had vision screening by the UCLA Preschool Vision Program (UPVP) using a Retinomax autorefractor during the years 2012-2017. Children aged 3-5 years old at the time of screening who met referral criteria for a follow-up eye exam were included in the study. The outcome was the presence of follow-up eye exam after referral. Contingency tables were constructed to determine whether follow-up rates differed based on demographic variables, including gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Chi-square tests were calculated to determine statistical significance.
Results :
A total of 16,515 children met the inclusion criteria, and 67.8% of them had eye exams after being referred. The proportion of females in the group was 50.2%. Latinos made up 83.6% of the study sample, followed by Blacks 5.1%, Asians 4.0%, and Whites 3.0%. The 4 year olds made up 57% of the group, while 33.8% were 3 years old and 9.2% were 5 years old.
Males received follow-up care at 68.5%, while only 66.9% of females had a follow-up exam (p=0.024). When looking at age, 5 year olds received follow-up at only 63.5%, while the 3 and 4 year olds followed up at 68.4% and 68.1% (p=0.001). There were significant differences in follow-up rates depending on race/ethnicity: Latinos and Asians had the highest follow-up rates at 69.6% and 66.6%, while only 55.5% of Blacks and 57.4% of Whites had follow-up exams (p<0.001).
Conclusions :
The overall follow-up rate in our population was moderate, despite the UPVP offering free eye exams and glasses on-site at children’s schools. Our results suggest that boys were more likely than girls to receive a follow up eye exam. Blacks and Whites were less likely than other groups to get a follow-up eye exam. The observed disparities in follow-up may help direct formative research efforts to determine the underlying causes for these disparities and help in the design of targeted program modifications to increase parent acceptance of eye exams to increase follow-up rates.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.