Impact of COVID-19 on Glaucoma Patients' Perception of Care

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The COVID-19 lockdown resulted in appointment cancellations that affected the medical management and visual health of glaucoma patients. This study aimed to examine COVID-related factors leading to decreased patient perception of visual health. We surveyed glaucoma patients to examine the impact of COVID-related office changes on perceived visual health and level of concern with care. Methods: 65 patients presenting to an Albany outpatient glaucoma practice in June 2021 were orally surveyed prior to appointment. Survey consisted of Y/N questions and Likert Scale responses examining patients' perception of care and concern over condition management during the March 2020 lockdown period. Likert responses from 1 to 5 regarding difficulty scheduling appointments, knowledge of COVID-19, level of concern regarding condition management, and patient reported vision-related quality of life (VRQOL) were used to gauge perceived visual health and level of concern with care. Patients were grouped into one of two cohorts based on whether they reported an institutional appointment cancellation during lockdown, and Mann-Whitney U and Spearman Correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis of cohorts. Results: Patients with appointment cancellations during lockdown reported significantly greater concern regarding condition management and impacted VRQOL (p<0.05). On a Likert scale up to 5, the level of concern regarding VRQOL in the noncancellation group was lower (1.2 ± 0.4) compared to the cancellation group (1.8 ± 1.0). Concern regarding condition management was also lower in the noncancellation group (1.7 ± 0.6) versus the cancellation group (3.0 ± 1.1). There was no significant difference in how informed the two groups felt about COVID-19. Correlation analysis confirmed these trends and showed that increased perceived ease of obtaining appointments was positively correlated with increased patient perception of visual health, represented by impact on VRQOL. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that COVID-related appointment cancellations caused patient concerns over care to grow and perception of visual health to decrease. Patient-reported visual health and VRQOL may be directly related to the ease of obtaining appointments and maintaining communication with their ophthalmologist, in addition to the medical management of their condition.