Abstract
Purpose :
Literature has reported that older individuals with vision impairment, particularly those with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), are at increased risk for medication errors and non-adherence to medication regimens due to difficulties reading prescription (Rx) medication labels. To address these visual access challenges, we implemented a single subject experimental design (i.e., alternating treatment design) to assess the effectiveness of using a smartphone application to read Rx labels for individuals with AMD.
Methods :
Subjects received a comprehensive eye exam at The Eye Institute of Salus University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Inclusion criteria involved: ≥45-years of age; diagnosis of AMD; best corrected visual acuity from 20/100-20/800; and ≥18/22 on Montreal Cognitive Assessment. A total of 12 subjects participated and were asked to read a set of 10-single randomized letters simulating medication names on Rx labels using the SuperVision-Mini application (SVMA) on an Android smartphone. Baseline phase was implemented first. Subsequently, two intervention phases (color-combinations and magnification levels) were randomly implemented. Reading time (in seconds), accuracy (in percent), and subjective reading comfort (on a 5-point Likert Scale, with 1 being very poor and 5 being excellent), were documented. The relationship between reading comfort and: reading time and accuracy, were assessed with Spearman correlation coefficients (table 1). Calculations were completed using GraphPad Prism 9. Randomization techniques were completed with SPSS software.
Results :
When assessing the relationship between reading comfort and reading time, all subjects exhibited a negative correlation, ranging from moderate to strong, with significant p-values (below .05). When assessing the relationship between reading comfort and accuracy, 91.7% (11/12) exhibited a positive correlation, ranging from weak to strong, with significant p-values (below .05). Insufficient evidence due to an insignificant p-value was exhibited by 8.33%(1/12) of subjects.
Conclusions :
In this study, as individuals read faster, and as accuracy increased, subjects felt more comfort when reading. Thus, when print cannot be manipulated, such as with Rx labels, using the SVMA with a smartphone can help improve the ability to read medication names on Rx labels for individuals with vision impairment resulting from AMD.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.