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Capacity building for diabetic retinopathy screening by optometrists in India: Model description and pilot results
PURPOSE: The present study's objectives are 1) to describe a novel model of Diabetic Retinopathy Capacity Building (DRCB) for optometrists in the detection of diabetes-related retinal pathology in India and 2) to assess the outcomes of this model by comparing the ability of optometrists to dete...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7942067/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33595495 http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ijo.IJO_1944_20 |
Sumario: | PURPOSE: The present study's objectives are 1) to describe a novel model of Diabetic Retinopathy Capacity Building (DRCB) for optometrists in the detection of diabetes-related retinal pathology in India and 2) to assess the outcomes of this model by comparing the ability of optometrists to detect these diseases using retinal photographs, vis-à-vis, a specialist ophthalmologist. METHODS: The DRCB model for optometrists conducted between August 2016 and August 2018 included training, certification in the screening, and referral guidelines for Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and hospital-and community-based service delivery. Training included a 7-month long fellowship in DR and mentored participation as cofacilitators in 1-day orientation workshops on DR screening guidelines across India. The sensitivity and specificity of study optometrists in screening for DR by fundus photography were compared to a retina specialist before certification. RESULTS: A total of eight optometrists successfully completed their DR fellowship in the project duration of 24 months. The sensitivity and specificity of detection of any DR were 95 and 79%, any Diabetic macular edema (DME) was 80 and 86%. The sensitivity and specificity of detection of sight threatening DR were 88 and 90% and DME was 72% and 92% respectively. Seven workshops were cofacilitated by study optometrists training 870 optometrists in DR screening guidelines across India. CONCLUSION: The present DRCB model results advocate for an optometry coordinated DR screening in India. Lessons learnt from this model can be useful in designing community-based task sharing initiatives for optometrists in DR screening. |
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