Abstract
Background:The cost of eyeglasses is variably covered by medical insurance and thus is a significant barrier for patients in lower socioeconomic classes. We evaluated the efficacy of Recycle Vision (RV) at LAC+USC Medical Center, a monthly clinic run by volunteer medical students that provides free donated eyeglasses.Methods:A convenience sample of 30 patients was surveyed from August 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. Patients’ prescriptions were matched with available eyeglasses based on spherical equivalent and axis of astigmatism using Winglasses software algorithm; patients selected glasses from these options based on subjective improvement of vision. All participants consented to a phone follow-up survey 1 month after initial visit to gauge satisfaction with glasses and rate difficulty in completing daily activities pre- and post-RV visit on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the greatest), with a 100% response rate.Results:Of the 30 study participants, 90% received eyeglasses from RV, with reported improvement in ease of daily activities of 3.96. 67% of respondents stated that if RV clinic did not exist, they would not have obtained glasses elsewhere; cost was the most commonly (70%) cited barrier. Upon follow-up, average likelihood of patients referring friends/family to RV was 4.07 (SD 1.14).Conclusion:The majority of RV patients received free eyeglasses and had subsequent improvement in their quality of life. This pilot study demonstrates that programs offering free eyeglasses can effectively correct refractive error and can offer a practical public health solution to improve functionality for underserved populations.
Highlights
The cost of eyeglasses is variably covered by medical insurance and is a significant barrier for patients in lower socioeconomic classes
30 patients attended Recycle Vision clinic for eyeglasses services; all 30 patients consented and were included in this study. 100% of patients were successfully reached by phone for the second half of the survey, which was carried out between one to two months after the initial clinic visit
A Mann Whitney U test was performed to compare the mean difficulty in completing daily tasks between those who owned glasses prior to visiting RV clinic (n=13), and those who did not own glasses prior to visiting Recycle Vision Clinic (n=17); the resulting summed ranks for each patient group totaled to 235 and 431, respectively
Summary
The cost of eyeglasses is variably covered by medical insurance and is a significant barrier for patients in lower socioeconomic classes. The cost of refractive eyeglasses is variably covered by insurance and can present a significant barrier for patients, especially those in lower socioeconomic classes.[3] The World Health Organization estimates that 90% of the visually impaired live in low-income environments,[4] and prior studies have illustrated that societal factors are consistently a barrier in correcting vision impairment.[5] For example, Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid) vision benefits include a routine eye examination every 24 months, but only patients under 21 years old and residents of nursing homes receive complete coverage of eyeglasses.[6]
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