Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Compliance With Contact Lens Wear and Care Among Contact Lens Users at a University Hospital in Turkey

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the level of compliance with contact lens (CL) care habits among CL wearers of different age and occupation groups. Methods: This survey study included 205 CL wearers followed in the tertiary reference center between 2016 and 2022. The survey was employed to probe each user's demographic data and noncompliant behaviors. To this end, the study compared CL compliance levels of patients in different age and occupation groups. Results: There were 85 (41.5%) patients in the good compliant group, 72 (35.1%) in the average compliant group, and 48 (23.4%) in the poor compliant group. The most common noncompliant behavior was disruption of aftercare visits. Except for two noncompliant behaviors (storage of fresh lens solution and exceeding the recommended lens case replacement time), other noncompliant behaviors were found more frequently in the ≤25 age group. The differences between the age groups were significant in hand washing and water activities (P=0.004 and P=0.023, respectively). Exceeding lens replacement time and sleeping with lenses criteria were found to be significantly noncompliant in health care workers compared to non-health care workers (P=0.006 and P=0.001, respectively). The level of compliance was found to be lower in users with 6 to 7 days of CL use per week than in those with fewer days (P=0.006). Conclusion: We found that the compliance rate was lower in younger patients and health care workers. We also observed that long-term use of CL reduces the level of compliance. Therefore, it might be necessary to focus on modifiable risk factors in these patient groups.