Attendance to Eye Screening from The Eye of Healthcare Professionals: A Qualitative Finding

Abstract

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is on a rising trend globally. In the third National and Health Morbidity Survey 2012, the number of patients who underwent proper eye screening is still far from satisfactory and the study regarding this aspect in the Malaysian setting is secluded. This study explored the current management of eye screening for diabetic patients within the Ministry of Health (MOH) setting and how it influences the attendance of patients for routine eye screening. Method: This descriptive qualitative study used in-depth semi-structured with ten health care provider who involved in diabetic eye screening and document analysis process. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed using Atlas-Ti. An iterative process of thematic analysis was used. Results: The factors that influence the attendance to eye screening were health care providers confidence in performing eye screening, the effectiveness of the green card system, interactive health educational session and continuous support from family members. Lack of information received by the patients on the importance of eye screening and communication issues seems to be prominent and become the reasons for patients’ poor attendance to eye screening. Having a structured programme which emphasises on the importance of eye screening could be able to empower the patients and facilitate better communication strategy between patients and healthcare professionals. This simultaneously would increase the interest of the patient to follow the schedule of eye screening to achieve better health outcomes. Conclusion: The establishment of diabetic retinopathy–focused education materials that target multiracial and low literacy audiences, observation during data collection through more natural methods and inclusion of comorbidity aspects in future research should be considered.