Abstract
Purpose :
The prevalence of vision impairment and eye disease is higher among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Additionally, many of these patients may encounter additional difficulties with accessing care and receiving appropriate referrals for eye care due to lack of standardized referral criteria specific to this population. The purpose of our survey study was to survey patients with ESRD receiving dialysis at two centers in Baltimore and identify their access and barriers to eye care.
Methods :
A total of 82 patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis were recruited at two Independent Dialysis Foundation sites in Baltimore City from June 2022 to July 2022. All participants were administered a survey by the study personnel.
Results :
With regards to the following demographic categories, the majority groups were as follows: 54% identified as male, 85% identified as African American, 56% had an education of high school/GED or less, 71% had Medicare/Medicaid insurance, and 52% had a yearly household income less than $25,000.
The data regarding eye exams revealed the following: 47% of participants had not received a complete eye exam within the past 1 year. Among these participants, the most common reasons for not having a recent eye exam were scheduling conflicts (35%), not wanting an eye exam (28%), and cost (14%).
To assess health literacy, participants were asked if they agreed with a statement that chronic kidney disease can increase the risk of developing eye disease. 51% of participants agreed with this statement.
Conclusions :
The results suggest that there are significant unmet eye care needs in this patient population. Results also indicate a gap in knowledge regarding the relationship between CKD and eye health. A large proportion of patients had not received an eye exam in the past one year potentially due to this lack of knowledge or due to a lack of time secondary to the burden of hemodialysis. These findings support the need for clinical guidelines for referral recommendations and the development of educational resources to increase patient understanding and facilitate scheduling appointments.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.