Abstract
Purpose :
Patients diagnosed with disease develop an organized pattern of beliefs about their condition that are key determinants of behavior directed at managing illness. These cognitive representations affect the individual’s emotional response to the illness and their coping behavior such as adherence to treatment. Little is known about the patient perception with eye diseases especially in those living in low/middle income countries. Patients’ perceptions vary across different populations and affect coping styles. This was a cross-sectional comparative study to assess the cognitive and emotional representations of illness in patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) living in a developing country.
Methods :
The sample comprised 65 patients with POAG and 58 with ARMD. All groups were matched for age, gender, comorbidity, and ethnic distribution. After a complete eye examination including measurement of best-corrected visual acuity, eye fundus evaluation, and automated visual field, all subjects answered the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ) to assess mental defeat. The Brief IPQ has 9 items rated using a 0-to-10 response scale. Five of the items assess cognitive illness representations: consequences, timeline, personal control, treatment control, and identity. Two of the items assess emotional representations: concern and emotions. One item assesses illness comprehensibility. Each item was compared between groups with the Mann-Whitney U test.
Results :
The mean age was 63.6 ± 9.2 and 66.4 ± 7.3 years, for glaucoma and ARMD, respectively (P = 0.152). Gender, ethnicity, and comorbidity were evenly distributed among the groups. In general, patients’ perceptions of illness were similar in both groups, except for personal control that was rated higher in glaucoma patients (P = 0.04).
Conclusions :
Despite clinically and pathogenically different diseases, POAG and ARMD patients had similar illness perceptions in a cohort of patients who live in a developing country. These results can help patients to take specific actions to regulate their emotions and improve the treatment outcome of their illness.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.