Targeted interventions can significantly improve attendance rates of diabetic retinopathy screening (DRS), according to a Cochrane systematic review.
Researchers at City, University of London in collaboration with six other universities found that interventions that specifically targeted patients, health care professionals or the health system resulted in a 12% increase in retinopathy screening attendance.
The primary objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of quality improvement interventions that seek to increase attendance for DRS in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Types of interventions included educational programmes, patient reminders and promoting self-management, with ‘goal setting’ named the most effective behaviour change technique (BCT) for improving screening attendance.
Cochrane stated that attendance for screening is still consistently below recommended levels. However, the company admitted that the success of these interventions is ‘dependent on early detection and time referral for treatment’.
Professor John Lawrenson, lead author of the Cochrane review and a professor of clinical visual science at City, University of London, said: ‘We hope that, by showing the clear benefits that targeted inventions can have on attendance, this will lead to policy changes which will ultimately help patients avoid diabetic retinopathy, and prevent what is globally the leading cause of vision loss amongst working-age adults in the Western word.’