Knowledge and Perceived barriers about Diabetic Retinopathy and Dilated eye exam in patients with Diabetes

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that 68% of the population from this primary care practice got a dilated eye exam within a year. Facilitators were awareness/knowledge about the DR and DFE, eye problems and information from their doctors. Almost 20% of the patients did not get an eye exam as recommended. Various barriers included cost, transportation issues, time constraint issues, lack of symptoms of the disease, and fear of the exam. There is a significance difference in getting an eye exam by the type of insurance with a smaller percentage of Medicaid recipients (60%) meeting the guidelines compared to Private (94% and 80%) (p=0.01) Improved provider education efforts that address patient barriers may increase adherence to the recommendations for getting a DFE. Information and support on diabetic retinopathy and the importance of a dilated eye exam can help motivate diabetes patients to be examined by ophthalmologists