Abstract
Purpose :
Video-based patient education has improved disease understanding, patient satisfaction and attitudes towards adherence in other specialties; however, no studies exist that assess and implement what retina physicians (RPs) and Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) patients prefer in a DR education video. We performed a qualitative needs assessment study by interviewing RPs and DR patients to determine needs and opportunities in DR education, which we used to guide us in developing an animated educational video about DR.
Methods :
Attending RPs and DR patients were interviewed at a retina specialty clinic in New Haven, CT. Inclusion criteria for patients was having DR and age over 18 years. Patients with co-existing retinal diseases were excluded. Semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded for themes. Patient demographics, years with diabetes, self reported understanding of disease (scale: 1 [none] - 10 [perfect]), and themes regarding needs were collected. Using feedback from interviews, an animated video was designed using VideoScribe and Adobe Creative Suite software.
Results :
We identified 5 RPs and 8 patients with this criteria. 4/5 RPs and 7/8 patients agreed to participate. Patients’ mean age was 59 years (range: 47-85 years) and 4/7 were male.
Mean years since patient diabetes diagnosis was 9.9 (range: 1-20) and mean patient understanding of disease was 6.4 (standard deviation: 2.6). 7/7 patients stated that a video would help them understand DR. Patient themes included ignoring the gravity of DR until symptoms developed, lack of online multilingual resources on the topic, and a lack of dietary counselling. Themes from RPs included current education brochures being ineffective and outdated, metaphors being important in educating patients about sugar control and fundus photos being an effective way to teach patients about DR. We incorporated all of this feedback to create a 6 minute animated video focused on the asymptomatic nature of the disease, an illustration of fundus photos with diabetic retinopathy, and dietary control.
Conclusions :
RPs and patients showed interest in video education and identified unique needs to incorporate in a DR video. We have used these insights to create a video that will be evaluated prospectively.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.