TY - JOUR
T1 - Patient-related barriers to Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lens wear among keratoconus patients in Jordan
AU - Bakkar, May M.
AU - Haddad, Mera F.
AU - Qadire, Mohammad Al
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Jordan University of Science and Technology . The authors would like to thank Dr. Ahmad Elsharif from Al Al-Bayt University (AABU) and Dr. Harry Milton for proofreading the manuscript.
Funding Information:
This project was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Jordan University of Science and Technology. The authors would like to thank Dr. Ahmad Elsharif from Al Al-Bayt University (AABU) and Dr. Harry Milton for proofreading the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 British Contact Lens Association
PY - 2018/6
Y1 - 2018/6
N2 - Purpose: To assess potential patient-related barriers to rigid gas permeable (RGP) lens wear for vision rehabilitation in a sample of keratoconus (KC) patients in Jordan. Methods: Barriers for RGP contact lens wear among KC patients were discussed and specified by a focus group which consisted of five optometrists who are involved in contact lens practice. The focus group addressed potential barriers for RGP lens wear from the patient's perspective. The identified barriers were then used to design the final questionnaire used in the study. The questionnaire consisted of 8 questions which ask the participant to rate, within a 5-points scale (1: strongly disagree to 5: strongly agree), how each suggested item is considered a barrier for RGP lens wear. Results: 204 KC patients (86 females, 118 males) were involved in a semi-structured interview to answer the questionnaire. The average age of participants was 30.85 (±8.74) years old and ranged from 18 to 62 years. The average age of diagnosis of KC (± standard deviation) is 21.96 (±7.22) years old with a range of 12–52 years. All participants reported that they had never tried RGP lenses for their vision rehabilitation; however, other management options were reported such as glasses, keratoplasty, collagen cross linking and Intacs. The mean score of total barriers to RGP wear was high at 3.8 (±0.4) (out of 5). The major identified barriers were: lack of awareness of the benefits of RGP lenses, fear of possible lens complications, lack of medical insurance and high cost of the lens. Conclusions: The study reveals that several barriers were identified as prevalent. Consequently, there is an imperative need to adopt better planning strategies for management protocol of KC in order to assure best eye care service for KC patients in Jordan.
AB - Purpose: To assess potential patient-related barriers to rigid gas permeable (RGP) lens wear for vision rehabilitation in a sample of keratoconus (KC) patients in Jordan. Methods: Barriers for RGP contact lens wear among KC patients were discussed and specified by a focus group which consisted of five optometrists who are involved in contact lens practice. The focus group addressed potential barriers for RGP lens wear from the patient's perspective. The identified barriers were then used to design the final questionnaire used in the study. The questionnaire consisted of 8 questions which ask the participant to rate, within a 5-points scale (1: strongly disagree to 5: strongly agree), how each suggested item is considered a barrier for RGP lens wear. Results: 204 KC patients (86 females, 118 males) were involved in a semi-structured interview to answer the questionnaire. The average age of participants was 30.85 (±8.74) years old and ranged from 18 to 62 years. The average age of diagnosis of KC (± standard deviation) is 21.96 (±7.22) years old with a range of 12–52 years. All participants reported that they had never tried RGP lenses for their vision rehabilitation; however, other management options were reported such as glasses, keratoplasty, collagen cross linking and Intacs. The mean score of total barriers to RGP wear was high at 3.8 (±0.4) (out of 5). The major identified barriers were: lack of awareness of the benefits of RGP lenses, fear of possible lens complications, lack of medical insurance and high cost of the lens. Conclusions: The study reveals that several barriers were identified as prevalent. Consequently, there is an imperative need to adopt better planning strategies for management protocol of KC in order to assure best eye care service for KC patients in Jordan.
KW - Barriers
KW - Jordan
KW - Keratoconus
KW - Rigid gas permeable contact lenses
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U2 - 10.1016/j.clae.2017.12.007
DO - 10.1016/j.clae.2017.12.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 29217454
AN - SCOPUS:85036610969
SN - 1367-0484
VL - 41
SP - 267
EP - 272
JO - Contact Lens and Anterior Eye
JF - Contact Lens and Anterior Eye
IS - 3
ER -