The purpose of this Phase I grant is to establish the feasibility of effecting a measurable positive change in compliance among diabetics with regards to necessary follow-up screening exams and ophthalmic care through a purpose-made, culturally competent, printed medium traditionally used for entertainment: the fotonovela. We will demonstrate statistically the increase in the patient's understanding of the consequences of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and will quantify the improvement in compliance with follow-up eye care after patients are exposed to an educational technique using fotonovelas. Phase I will focus on individuals within the Hispanic populations of Texas, California, and New Mexico because of the high incidence of total diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes (18.6%, 16.2%, 14.3% respectively) and gross number of diabetics (2.4 million, 3.1 million, and 167,000 respectively) in these regions. Results of this project will demonstrate increased understanding and compliance in this difficult-to-reach and underserved segment of the population. Feasibility of the strategy will be determined by researching the potential impact on, and receptivity of, the patients through quantitative measures of compliance change among those patients who have recently received a referral to seek follow-up ophthalmic care at an eye clinic. Success will be measured through analysis of increased knowledge and awareness about DR, as well as analysis of the number of eye appointments made and eye exams completed, post-intervention by both cohorts. Using the results of the study, we will develop a strategy for making all levels of primary healthcare providers and diabetic patients more sensitive to the benefits of early detection and treatment of DR through a community-based campaign. The campaign will promote a partnership between the providers and patients;providers must prescribe more frequent, or annual eye exams and patients must follow the providers'recommendations.
This project addresses the ongoing problem of non-compliance with necessary eye care in the diabetic population. VisionQuest Biomedical will demonstrate an innovative strategy to disseminate diabetic retinopathy educational information to diabetics via the fotonovela communication media in pamphlet form. This project will launch a strategy to make both patients and primary care providers more aware of the risks of vision loss in diabetics.
