COMPLIANCE OF GLAUCOMA PATIENTS AS A MEDICAL AND SOCIAL PROBLEM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/1811-2471.2020.v.i2.11328Keywords:
primary glaucoma, compliance, preventive blindness, primary care physicianAbstract
The aim of the work – to study the compliance of patients with glaucoma and analyze the causes of its insufficiency.
Material and Methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the ophthalmological departments of hospitals of three central district hospitals of the Ivano-Frankivsk region. A representative group of 515 glaucoma patients over 55 years old was interviewed. Among them were 261 women and 254 men (50.7 % and 49.3 %), 249 urban and 266 rural residents (48.3 % and 51.7 %). Sociological, bibliosemantic and medico-statistical methods were applied.
Results. It was established that the need for constant medication is known to all 100 % of respondents with glaucoma. However, more than a third (36.0 %) of respondents do not always follow the recommendations of ophthalmologists and do not regularly take prescribed medications. One of the main reasons is that 20.4 % of respondents fear the side effects of glaucoma medications and another 54.7 % doubt their safety. It is clear that this situation is the result of a lack of patient awareness of the therapy that they are prescribed. 96.9 % of respondents said they receive information about the disease from health workers. Among claims to medical care, complaints about medical staff were only in 5.4 % of cases, and two thirds (67.6 %) of the number of respondents dissatisfied with medical care complained about the high cost of drugs and medical services. 69.0 % of respondents said that they sometimes or constantly have difficulty paying for medicines due to lack of funds.
Conclusions. A significant number of patients with glaucoma do not comply with the recommendations of the doctor and the regimen of medication. The reasons for the low compliance are the lack of patient awareness of the benefits and risks of treatment, an increased feeling of anxiety and depression, loneliness, mainly a low level of material well-being and the education of respondents.
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