Social factors influencing uptake of free eye examinations
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Social factors influencing uptake of free eye examinations in Northern Ireland
IRAS ID
202296
Contact name
David Wright
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Chronic eye conditions (e.g. glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration - AMD) place a heavy burden on the individuals and families affected and on healthcare providers. Free annual eye examinations (provided by community optometrists) aimed at early detection of ocular and other chronic conditions are available for people aged 60 and over in Northern Ireland. Early detection is likely to significantly improve patient prognosis and reduce treatment costs for many of these conditions.
We aim to investigate the influences of a range of social factors along with indicators of health, living arrangements and area of residence on uptake of free eye examinations among the over 60s. Contextual data drawn from the 2011 Census, measured at the individual, household and area levels will be linked with records of individual attendance at free eye examinations over a five year period surrounding the 2011 Census. The project will pay particular attention to groups identified in previous studies as having low participation in routine health screening and we will also investigate whether area of residence has an additional influence on uptake.
Identification of groups and areas associated with low uptake of free eye examinations is a first step towards designing interventions to increase uptake with the aim of ameliorating the impact of common conditions on the ocular health of the general population.
REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0103
Date of REC Opinion
3 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion