János Németh1, Dorottya Szabó1, Gábor Tóth1, Gábor Sándor1, Regina Lukács1,2, Anita Pék1,3, Irén Szalai1, András Papp1, Serge Resnikoff4, Hans Limburg5. 1. a Department of Ophthalmology , Semmelweis University , Budapest , Hungary. 2. b Department of Ophthalmology , Flór Ferenc Hospital , Budapest , Hungary. 3. c Department of Ophthalmology , Petz Aladár Hospital , Győr , Hungary. 4. d Brien Holden Vision Institute and SOVS , University of New South Wales , Sydney , NSW , Australia. 5. e Health Information Services , Grootebroek , The Netherlands.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To present experiences gained during the planning, implementation, and practical performance of the rapid assessment of avoidable blindness with diabetic retinopathy module (RAAB+DR) in an established market economy. METHODS: A total of 3523 people aged 50 years or older were examined at their homes in 105 randomly selected clusters in Hungary. During the 4-month-long field work, five teams visited the clusters. Each team was composed of a senior ophthalmic resident or eye specialist, a nurse, an assistant, a driver, and a local guide. The local guides were found through local mayors of the towns or villages or other local leaders. RESULTS: Of all 105 clusters, 41% were completed in 1 day and 59% required a longer stay. The shortest daily examination time was 3.5 hours and the longest was 10 hours. Altogether, 7.6% of the enumeration areas needed revisit, mainly due to insufficient preparatory work and absence of the subjects. The best local guides were the local government workers, health visitors, and general practitioner (GP) nurses. Refusal of pupillary dilatation was relatively high and varied greatly among the study groups (7.7-43.8%). CONCLUSION: The performance of a RAAB+DR study in a well-industrialised country is difficult, but may be successful. The most critical factor for success is an excellent local guide who is able to achieve participation of the people. The results of the RAAB are a solid basis for the development of a national programme for universal eye health and to prepare active media campaigns.
PURPOSE: To present experiences gained during the planning, implementation, and practical performance of the rapid assessment of avoidable blindness with diabetic retinopathy module (RAAB+DR) in an established market economy. METHODS: A total of 3523 people aged 50 years or older were examined at their homes in 105 randomly selected clusters in Hungary. During the 4-month-long field work, five teams visited the clusters. Each team was composed of a senior ophthalmic resident or eye specialist, a nurse, an assistant, a driver, and a local guide. The local guides were found through local mayors of the towns or villages or other local leaders. RESULTS: Of all 105 clusters, 41% were completed in 1 day and 59% required a longer stay. The shortest daily examination time was 3.5 hours and the longest was 10 hours. Altogether, 7.6% of the enumeration areas needed revisit, mainly due to insufficient preparatory work and absence of the subjects. The best local guides were the local government workers, health visitors, and general practitioner (GP) nurses. Refusal of pupillary dilatation was relatively high and varied greatly among the study groups (7.7-43.8%). CONCLUSION: The performance of a RAAB+DR study in a well-industrialised country is difficult, but may be successful. The most critical factor for success is an excellent local guide who is able to achieve participation of the people. The results of the RAAB are a solid basis for the development of a national programme for universal eye health and to prepare active media campaigns.
Entities:
Keywords:
Causes of blindness; causes of visual impairment; population-based data collection; rapid assessment of avoidable blindness (RAAB); screening
Authors: Anita Pék; Dorottya Szabó; Gábor László Sándor; Gábor Tóth; András Papp; Zoltán Zsolt Nagy; Hans Limburg; János Németh Journal: Int J Ophthalmol Date: 2020-05-18 Impact factor: 1.779