Closer care, training, trials and monitoring in the early stages are all keys to reducing drops outs from contact lens wear according to a white paper produced by Coopervision.
The Contact Lens Category Retention White Paper surveyed 1,000 current and former contact lens wearers to understand their motivation for continuation or drop out from wear. Of the group 51% were still contact lens wearers and the gender split was also even.
When asked for their feelings about contact lenses both groups were positive. For wearers the most common feelings were: confident (33%), comfortable (31%), free (27%), relaxed (25%), happy (24%) and attractive (24%). The drop out group voiced similar positive sentiments, at similar levels, but this was dominated by feeling uncomfortable (42%). This, said the report, shows that nearly half of those dropping would continue wear if their discomfort could be solved.
Age also played a factor with most current wearers in the younger age groups and drop outs in the older groups. For this second group irritation and application were considered particular challenges.
The report went on to delve deeper into why patients discontinued wear. This revealed a split between long term wearers, more likely to drop out for comfort reasons, and those dropping out in the early days of wear. This second group needed to be supported more with training and follow ups, said the paper.
The White Paper also looked at service level perceptions between the two groups. This showed higher scores for current wearers than for drop outs. Continuing wearers also felt more confident after their initial fitting, had longer consultations, better training and better follow ups. The average time, in weeks, between the first fit and follow up for drop outs was 7.1. This was just 4.3 weeks for those still wearing lenses.
Trials also have a part to play, said the White Paper. Over two thirds of drop outs had only ever tried one type of lens, only 13% of those dropping out had been offered an alternative lens. While cost can be an issue, 16% cited this when dropping out after three months, direct debits are also shown to help retention. Nearly three quarters of drop outs were pay as you go patients, half had never been offered a subscription scheme.
The report concluded that the early days of contact lens wear are crucial. This meant tailoring the teaching and approach to the individual patient, offering different products and changing lenses if lifestyle requirements change. In the longer term payment plans can help retention as can on-going, but gentle, questioning to ensure comfort is maintained.