Abstract:
Introduction: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) play a crucial role as safety-net primary health care clinics in the United States, serving medically underserved areas and populations. However, eye services are rarely offered at FQHCs. We examined how telemedicine-generated ocular diagnoses impacted vision-targeted health-related quality of life at FQHCs in rural Alabama. Methods: We focused on patients who are at risk for glaucoma. Both visual function and retinal imaging were assessed. The telemedicine vision screening protocol performed by a remote ophthalmologist evaluated eyes for glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataract, age-related macular degeneration, and a measurement of habitual visual acuity. The National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-9 (VFQ-9) was administered. Results: Using stepwise regression, the best-fitting model for predicting VFQ-9 scores incorporated visual acuity 20/40 or worse, a diabetic retinopathy diagnosis, and sociodemographic variables (gender, transportation, insurance type/status, and employment status). Conclusion: Vision-targeted, health-related quality of life in our FQHC settings was related to the visual acuity impairment and the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy but was also influenced by a variety of sociodemographic factors.
摘要:
简介:联邦合格的健康中心(FQHC)作为美国的安全网初级卫生保健诊所发挥着至关重要的作用。服务于医疗服务不足的地区和人群。然而,FQHC很少提供眼科服务。我们研究了在阿拉巴马州农村地区的FQHC中,远程医疗生成的眼部诊断如何影响以视觉为目标的健康相关生活质量。方法:我们关注有青光眼风险的患者。评估视觉功能和视网膜成像。由远程眼科医生执行的远程医疗视力筛查协议评估了青光眼的眼睛,糖尿病视网膜病变,白内障,年龄相关性黄斑变性,和习惯性视敏度的测量。给予国家眼科研究所视觉功能问卷-9(VFQ-9)。结果:使用逐步回归,预测VFQ-9分数的最佳拟合模型包含20/40或更差的视敏度,糖尿病视网膜病变的诊断,和社会人口统计学变量(性别,交通运输,保险类型/状态,和就业状况)。结论:以视觉为目标,在我们的FQHC设置中,健康相关的生活质量与视力障碍和糖尿病性视网膜病变的诊断相关,但也受到多种社会人口统计学因素的影响.