Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2010 Jan-Feb;36(1):118-26.
doi: 10.1177/0145721709356116. Epub 2009 Dec 31.

Vision is precious: a successful behavioral intervention to increase the rate of screening for diabetic retinopathy for inner-city adults

Hollie L Jones  1 , Elizabeth A Walker  2 , Clyde B Schechter  2 , Emelinda Blanco  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Vision is precious: a successful behavioral intervention to increase the rate of screening for diabetic retinopathy for inner-city adults

Hollie L Jones et al. Diabetes Educ. 2010 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: This purpose of this report is to describe a successful telephone intervention to increase the rate of diabetic retinopathy screening, its implementation with English and Spanish speakers, and the characteristics of those who benefited most from the intervention.

Methods: Participants in the telephone group (N = 305) received a tailored intervention from trained health educators who were ethnically diverse and representative of the community. The main outcome for the randomized controlled study was documented receipt of a dilated fundus examination (DFE) within the 6-month study window. Exploratory analyses focused on examining the factors that contribute to receiving a DFE within 6 months for participants in the tailored telephone intervention using Pearson chi(2) and logistic regression analysis.

Results: Participants in the telephone intervention who did not receive a DFE had significantly more documented steps in the behavioral process than those who did receive a DFE, and ethnic concordance of the health educator was not significantly associated with a positive outcome in the DFE group. There was a negative association between the time spent building rapport and receipt of DFE. As time spent engaging in educational activities by telephone increased, the likelihood of receiving a DFE increased.

Conclusions: Although the telephone intervention was highly successful compared with the print intervention, these process results demonstrate the difficulties and challenges of conducting a tailored telephone intervention to improve rates of screening in an underserved, diverse urban community.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Age-Adjusted Rates of Annual Dilated Eye Exam, Daily Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose, Foot Exam in the Last Year, and Doctor Visit for Diabetes in the Last Year per 100 Adults with Diabetes, United States, 1994–2004. Centers for Disease Control; 2005. [Accessed March 22, 2008]. National diabetes surveillance system: Preventive care practices. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/preventive/tx.htm.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Number in Thousands of New Cases of Diagnosed Diabetes among Adults Aged 18–79 Years, United States, 1997–2003. Vol. 2005. Centers for Disease Control; 2005. [Accessed September 22, 2007]. National diabetes surveillance system: Incidence of diabetes. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics.
    1. The Eye Disease Prevalence Research Group. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among adults in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122:522–63. - PubMed
    1. Lee SJ, McCarty CA, Sicari C, et al. Recruitment methods for community-based screening for diabetic retinopathy. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2000;7:209–218. - PubMed
    1. Mukamel DB, Bresnick H, Wang Q, Dickey CF. Barriers to compliance with screening guidelines for diabetic retinopathy. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 1999;6:61–72. - PubMed

Publication types