Barriers to eye care among participants of a mobile eye clinic

• Published in: Cogent medicine 2019-01, Vol.6 (1), p.1650693
• Main Authors: Chheda, Kousanee, Wu, Rong, Zaback, Tosha, Brinks, Mitchell V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: access; Acuity; Blindness; caucasian; Community; Cultural differences; Demography; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetic retinopathy; Eye; Eye examinations; Health care policy; Health insurance; hispanic; Hispanic people; Homeless people; Insurance coverage; Medical screening; Medicine; Mobile businesses; ophthalmology; Out of pocket costs; Prevention; Quality of life; Subpopulations; Uninsured people; visual acuity; Visual impairment; Visual perception
• ISSN: 2331-205X; 2331-205X; 2770-7571
• DOI: 10.1080/2331205X.2019.1650693

Purpose: Barriers to health care present complex challenges to improving eye health in the U.S., yet few studies have quantitatively measured the impact of these barriers. This study investigated the time elapsed since a person's most recent eye examination (TLEE) as a measure of barriers to eye care. Methods: Participants (N = 1699) from mobile clinic vision health screenings completed demographic and subjective visual function questionnaires, and then underwent comprehensive eye exams. Associations between demographics, subjective visual function, and visual acuity were analyzed with respect to TLEE. Results: Many Hispanic (34.9%) and uninsured (28.6%) participants had no previous eye exam. Although most Caucasians had a previous eye exam, 40.2% did not have an exam in the previous four years. The majority of participants with diabetes were non-compliant with recommendations of annual eye examinations. Conclusion: These results describe barriers that are specific to subpopulations, providing useful information for efforts to improve eye care access.