Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate the current practices, knowledge and needs of ophthalmologist at various clinical settings in Turkey regarding inherited eye diseases. Also, we aimed to understand the need for a subspecialty of ophthalmic genetics in a country where the rate of consanguinity and inherited eye diseases is higher.
Methods :
A 29-question self-administered survey with branching algorithm was developed through Google forms and the survey link was sent to 2983 ophthalmologists practicing at various clinical settings in Turkey during February to June 2021. The survey assessed participants' occupational characteristics, current practices and preferences, knowledge about available diagnostic and therapeutic options, proposals to improve continuing education and healthcare services related to the inherited eye diseases.
Results :
414 (20.8%) ophthalmologists completed the survey, 236 of which (57%) were specialist, 178 (43%) were academic faculty. Of the respondents, 107 (25.9%) were in private practice, 71 (17.1%) in state hospitals, 129 (31.2%) in training and research hospitals, and 107 (25.8%) in university hospitals. 192 (46.4%) respondents were general ophthalmologists and 222 (53.6%) were subspecialist. Only 43.2 % of ophthalmologists reported presence of medical geneticist in their facility. Majority of the respondents reported being uninformed about genetic diagnostic tests (82.4%), available genetic tests in or near their facility (78.5%), and which genetic diagnostic tests were covered by health insurance system (93%). There was statistically significant difference in responses about management strategies of inherited eye diseases between subgroups with respect to affiliation (p<0.05, Table 1). Nearly 90% of ophthalmologists thought that training after residency was inadequate and 94% expressed the need for a subspecialty of ophthalmic genetics.
Conclusions :
In the current era of next-generation genetic diagnostic tests and gene therapies, practice patterns and needs of ophthalmologists were revealed for the first time in a setting of higher disease rates due to consanguinity and fewer specialists interested in inherited eye diseases.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.