How glaucoma patients balance between the advantages and disadvantages of acceptance to the recommended treatment regimen in real‐life: Perspectives from a middle‐income country

Abstract

AbstractPurposePatients with primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG) are required to take long‐term treatments with topical medications to halt disease progression. This cross‐sectional survey aimed to describe the level of acceptance of Brazilian patients toward the long‐term treatment with eyedrops and to find possible correlates of high acceptance.MethodsPOAG patients were recruited from the Glaucoma Service—Santa Casa of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Clinical and demographic data were retrieved from participants' electronic records. All patients answered the ACCEPT© questionnaire. This is a generic patient‐reported outcome questionnaire specifically developed to assess patients' acceptance of long‐term medications and not adherence. Summed scores and those for each domain were calculated to range from 0 to 100 with a higher score indicating greater acceptance.ResultsThe sample comprised 96 patients with POAG. The mean age was 63.2 ± 8.9 years; 48 were male and 48 female; 55 (57.3%) were white, 36 (37.5%) African‐Brazilian, and 5 (5.2%) were of mixed color; most patients (97.9%) had less than high school degree and all had a family income <USD10,000. The mean summed ACCEPT score was 66.2 ± 5.0. Scores for specific domains were higher for your medication (82.5 ± 35.9), side effects of your medication (86.9 ± 37.4), and effectiveness of your medication (73.3 ± 8.3). There was no association between higher scores and any sociodemographic variables.ConclusionsIn this cohort of Brazilian patients with glaucoma, acceptance of treatment was high. Patients seems to have noticed more benefits than risks to the recommended treatment regimen.