Abstract
BackgroundGlaucoma, the silent thief of sight, is a major cause of blindness worldwide. It is a burden for people in low-income countries, specifically countries where glaucoma-induced blindness accounts for 15% of the total incidence of blindness. More than half the people living with glaucoma in low-income countries are unaware of the disease until it progresses to an advanced stage, resulting in permanent visual impairment.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the acceptability of the Glaucoma Easy Screener (GES), a low-cost and portable visual field screening platform comprising a smartphone, a stereoscopic virtual reality headset, and a gaming joystick.MethodsA mixed methods study that included 24 eye care professionals from 4 hospitals in Southwest Ethiopia was conducted to evaluate the acceptability of GES. A pre-post design was used to collect perspectives before and after using the GES by using questionnaires and semistructured interviews. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to determine the significance of any change in the scores of the questionnaire items (two-tailed, 95% CI; α=.05). The questionnaire and interview questions were guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology.ResultsPositive results were obtained both before and after use, suggesting the acceptance of mobile health solutions for conducting glaucoma screening by using a low-cost headset with a smartphone and a game controller. There was a significant increase (two-tailed, 95% CI; α=.05) in the average scores of 86% (19/22) of postuse questionnaire items compared with those of preuse questionnaire items. Ophthalmic professionals perceived GES as easy to use and as a tool that enabled the conduct of glaucoma screening tests, especially during outreach to rural areas. However, positive evaluations are contingent on the accuracy of the tool. Moreover, ophthalmologists voiced the need to limit the tool to screening only (ie, not for making diagnoses).ConclusionsThis study supports the feasibility of using a mobile device in combination with a low-cost virtual reality headset and classic controller for glaucoma screening in rural areas. GES has the potential to reduce the burden of irreversible blindness caused by glaucoma. However, further assessment of its sensitivity and specificity is required.
Highlights
BackgroundGlaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, affecting approximately 64 million people [1,2]
More than half of the people living with the disease in low-income countries are unaware of the condition until it progresses to an advanced stage resulting in visual impairment [4,5]
All preuse Social influence (SI) items scored above 3, with SI5 (“If I use the platform, I will be considered as an advocate of technology by my colleagues”) scoring the highest, with a mean of 4.04 (SD 0.86), and SI4 (“My patients will be open to the use of this platform”) scoring the lowest, with a mean of 3.46 (SD 0.98; Figure 7; preuse)
Summary
BackgroundGlaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, affecting approximately 64 million people [1,2]. For people living in rural areas in low-income countries with limited access to ophthalmic care, glaucoma screening and diagnosis testing through VFT is nearly nonexistent [5]. More than half the people living with glaucoma in low-income countries are unaware of the disease until it progresses to an advanced stage, resulting in permanent visual impairment. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the acceptability of the Glaucoma Easy Screener (GES), a low-cost and portable visual field screening platform comprising a smartphone, a stereoscopic virtual reality headset, and a gaming joystick. Ophthalmic professionals perceived GES as easy to use and as a tool that enabled the conduct of glaucoma screening tests, especially during outreach to rural areas. Further assessment of its sensitivity and specificity is required
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