The Impact of Written Information on the Compliance with Contact Lens Care

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of written information on the compliance with proper contact lens (CL) care. METHODS: The patients prescribed CLs by a single ophthalmologist in a clinic from January 2008 to August 2009 were enrolled in the present study. The patients were randomly divided into 2 groups, the verbal and written information (VWI) group and verbal information (VI) group. The patients in the VWI group received verbal and written information on proper CL care and the VI group received the same information only verbally. Patients who were followed-up more than 2 weeks after CL wear were asked 10 questions regarding CL care and statistical analysis was performed for each question on CL care. The Mann Whitney U-test was used for comparison between the 2 groups and Pearson's test was used for the correlation analyses. RESULTS: A total of 23 patients were included in this study. Ten patients were assigned to the VWI group, and 13 patients to the VI group. The most desirable score for the CL care was 100 points. The VWI group showed 85.2 +/- 13.4 points and the VI group showed 71.5 +/- 10.1 points (p = 0.030, Mann-Whitney U-test). Of the 10 questions, daily replacement of the lens care solution and the use of tap water showed significant correlation with the discomfort induced by the CL and rinsing process before CL insertion showed significant correlation with the CL intolerance (p = 0.008, p = 0.004 and p = 0.015, respectively, Pearson's correlation test). CONCLUSIONS: The patients in the written information group showed better compliance for overall CL care. Adding the written information to the verbal explanation can enhance the patient's compliance with the proper CL care. Enhancing the compliance of CL care with written information can be expected to decrease the complications and improve the comfort of wearing CLs.