Barriers and enablers to diabetic retinopathy screening
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Enabling diabetic retinopathy screening: mixed methods study of barriers and enablers to attendance (EROS study)
IRAS ID
253802
Contact name
John Lawrenson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
People with diabetes may develop severe vision loss because of the damaging effects of the disease on small blood vessels at the back of the eye (diabetic retinopathy). In the UK, everyone with diabetes aged 12 years and over is offered annual screening, consisting of taking photographs of the back of the eye (retina) to look for early signs of diabetic retinopathy that might need treatment. Treatment of sight-threatening retinopathy with lasers can avoid vision loss, so it is important that people with diabetes regularly attend their screening appointments. However, across the UK, regular attendance for screening varies. This can have major consequences for identifying sight-threatening disease in good time. There are also financial consequences to the NHS, as the costs of missed appointments is high.
We know from previous research that certain groups are more likely to miss their annual appointment. For example, in younger people up to 16 years old, attendance is generally high, but then drops sharply among people aged 17-29 years. Possibly, attendance is also low among those living in deprived areas or among certain ethnic groups. Our study aims to analyse the difference in screening attendance across age groups and other groups to explore which groups don’t attend screening appointments. Based on our findings, we will invite people in these groups to tell us what stops or would encourage them attend. We will use a combination of detailed one-to-one interviews and a short questionnaire to record the views of a broader range of people with diabetes who go or do not go to their screening appointment. Social media will be used (for example, messages to mobile phones) to make it easier for young adults to participate. We will also interview healthcare professionals, asking for their views about how systems could be changed to improve attendance.
REC name
Wales REC 2
REC reference
19/WA/0228
Date of REC Opinion
30 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion