Abstract
Aims/Purpose: Investigate demographic and socio‐economic differences between individuals who accepted and declined participation in a glaucoma screening program in Sete Rios Health Center, Lisbon, and identify factors potentially responsible for decrease in screening adherence.Methods: Subset analysis of ongoing prospective study (Clinicaltrial.gov: NCT05875090). Diabetic and healthy patients between 55 and 65 years were invited to an AI‐powered glaucoma screening by both telephone and letter. Demographic, socio‐economic and clinical data were collected through both surveys to the patients and through medical records.Results: 545 subjects (out of 690) were reachable by telephone. 80.0% of those (n = 436) accepted scheduling and roughly 4 out of 5 (72.5%, n = 316) attended the screening visit. Additional 27 people attended screening having received the letter only. Telephone contact revealed overall effectiveness of 45.7% (overall effectiveness of 47.8%). Both screening attendees (S group, n = 343) and non‐attendees (NS group, n = 357) showed homogeneity in age, sex and family history of glaucoma. NS group had a higher percentage of people with more than 12 years of education compared to the S group (42.0% vs 30.5%, p = 0.036). Notably, managers were the professional group which exhibited the highest avoidance rate (47.7%), whereas conversely armed forces occupations showed no refusals. The prevalence of diabetes was significantly higher in the NS group (49.3% vs 32.2%, p = 0.004). Most non‐participants (50.6%) cited prior ophthalmology consultation as their reason for their refusal. Only 15.6% actively refused the screening.Conclusions: These findings shed light on potential barriers to participation and underscore the importance of tailored approaches to engage diverse populations in preventive eye care initiatives.
Published Version
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