 |
 |

Poor Uptake of Cataract Surgery in Nursing Home Residents
The Salisbury Eye Evaluation in Nursing Home Groups Study
David S. Friedman, MD, MPH;
Beatriz Muñoz, MSc;
Karen Bandeen Roche, PhD;
Robert Massof, PhD;
Aimee Broman, MS;
Sheila K. West, PhD
Arch Ophthalmol. 2005;123:1581-1587.
Objective To compare the uptake of cataract surgery in nursing homes in which assistance was provided in obtaining services with that in control homes.
Methods The Salisbury Eye Evaluation in Nursing Home Groups (SEEING) project is a randomized clinical trial studying the effect of a comprehensive vision restoration-rehabilitation program, including the provision of cataract surgery services when needed. Twenty-eight nursing homes in the Eastern Shore area of Maryland and Delaware were matched in pairs by size and payment type. Nursing homes within each pair were randomized to usual care or targeted intervention. Persons with cataract causing visual acuity in the better eye to be worse than 20/40 were informed of the possible benefit of cataract surgery. For those in intervention homes, additional support was provided in obtaining cataract surgery.
Results Of residents with vision-impairing cataract in intervention homes, 31% underwent cataract surgery vs 2% in usual-care facilities. Residents with cataract compared with all residents without visual impairment, regardless of nursing home assignment, tended to be older (mean age, 86.7 vs 82.1 years; P<.001), were more likely to be black (age-adjusted P<.001), had lower Mini-Mental State Examination scores (mean, 11.7 vs 16.2; age-adjusted P<.001), and longer length of stay (mean, 42.3 vs 24.4 months; P<.001). Furthermore, cataract was associated with significant visual impairment and with functional limitations, with 20% of those recommended for surgery having a visual acuity of 20/100 or worse in the better-seeing eye.
Conclusions Screening for and identifying cataracts as a cause of vision loss rarely results in uptake of cataract surgery services in nursing homes. The addition of a support system to facilitate the process of scheduling surgery and getting to and from the hospital dramatically increases uptake rates.
Author Affiliations: Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, (Drs Friedman and West and Mss Muñoz and Broman) and Lions Vision Research and Rehabilitation Center (Dr Massof), The Wilmer Eye Institute, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, and Department of Biostatistics (Dr Bandeen Roche), The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Dr Massof), Baltimore, Md.
CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us Digg Reddit Technorati Twitter
What's this?
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
 |
English NHS waiting times: what next?
Harrison and Appleby
JRSM 2009;102:260-264.
FULL TEXT
Cataract surgery and mortality
Lindfield et al.
Br J Ophthalmol 2009;93:985-985.
FULL TEXT
Vision screening
Evans et al.
Br J Ophthalmol 2009;93:704-705.
FULL TEXT
Risk of Admission to a Nursing Home Among Older People With Visual Impairment in Great Britain
Evans et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2008;126:1428-1433.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Effect of Refractive Error Correction on Health-Related Quality of Life and Depression in Older Nursing Home Residents
Owsley et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2007;125:1471-1477.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Impact of cataract surgery on health-related quality of life in nursing home residents
Owsley et al.
Br J Ophthalmol 2007;91:1359-1363.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
The Visual Status of Older Persons Residing in Nursing Homes
Owsley et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2007;125:925-930.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|