Systematic Literature Review on strengthening Eye Care Follow-Up Among Glaucoma Patients in Limpopo Province

Abstract

Background: Adherence to prescribed glaucoma medications is often poor and proper adherence can be challenging for most patients Objective: The purpose of this systematic literature review is to identify and evaluate studies that have tested the impact of each intervention on glaucoma adherence based on their quality outcome measure. Methods: A comprehensive search of database was conducted from January 2009 to January 2019. We systematically reviewed the literature and identified sixteen studies that used educational interventions to improve glaucoma medication adherence. Eleven out of 16 eligible studies were subjected to Randomized Controlled Trial (RCTs) and the remaining four were reviewed as observational studies. One study was reviewed through both observational plus randomized control trial method. Results: Out of the eleven (68.75%) RCTs interventions done, five (31.25%) showed improvement in medication adherence and persistence with eye drop instillation, whereas (n=6) did not show any significant improvement on their medication adherence. The quality of each study was evaluated using the Jadad score calculation and the Ottawa-Newcastle. Conclusion: Using information from this systematic review and Health Behavior Model, we created a theoretical framework to illustrate how counseling and education can improve medication adherence amongst glaucoma patients in the country.