New Managed Care Study Findings Recently Were Reported by Researchers at University of Pittsburgh (Characteristics Associated With Barriers To Eye Care: a Cross-sectional Survey At a Free Vision Screening Event): Managed Care

2024 MAR 15 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Managed Care is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Social determinants of health can limit access to regular eye care, but their role in ophthalmology is underexamined. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between patient characteristics and self-reported barriers to eye care.”

Financial supporters for this research include Henry L. Hillman Foundation, National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA, Eye and Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh, Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB), American Glaucoma Society.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Pittsburgh, “This anonymous, cross-sectional survey was conducted at a 2-day free eye clinic event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Adult patients presenting for vision screening were eligible to participate. Patient characteristics (demographics, health status) and self-reported barriers to eye care were collected. Predictors of barriers to eye care were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Of 269 eligible, consecutive patients approached for survey completion, 183 comprised the volunteer sample. The 183 participants (105 female patients [59%]) had a mean (standard deviation) age of 53 (15) years and generally self-identified as Black (74, 46%) or White (67, 41%). While a third reported having no health insurance (60, 34%), the remaining two-thirds of participants had public (84, 48%) or private coverage (34, 19%). Three-quarters of respondents reported at least one barrier to receiving regular eye care (136, 76%), most commonly medical costs (89, 50%) and insurance issues (73, 41%). Not having health insurance or vision insurance was strongly associated with reporting at least one barrier to care (OR: 5.00, p = 0.002, and OR: 7.46, p< 0.001, respectively). Those with self-reported eye disease were more likely to report transportation difficulties (OR: 4.45, p = 0.013), and employed participants reported difficulty getting time off work to attend eye exams (OR: 7.73, p = 0.002). Finally, compared to Black race, White race was associated with a higher likelihood of reporting any barrier to care (OR: 2.79, p = 0.013).”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Three-quarters of vision screening attendees reported at least one barrier to regular eye care, most commonly medical costs and insurance. <.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Characteristics Associated With Barriers To Eye Care: a Cross-sectional Survey At a Free Vision Screening Event. Ophthalmic Research, 2023;66(1):170-178. Ophthalmic Research can be contacted at: Karger, Allschwilerstrasse 10, Ch-4009 Basel, Switzerland. (Karger - http://www.karger.com/; Ophthalmic Research - http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=JournalHome&ProduktNr=223858)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Andrew M. Williams, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Dept. of Ophtalmology, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, United States. Additional authors for this research include Sarah Atta, Haniah A. Zaheer, Owen Clinger, Evan L. Waxman, Dana McGinnis-Thomas, Jose-Alain Sahel and Peggy J. Liu.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1159/000526875. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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