Mental health challenges among barriers to uptake of diabetic eye screening

New research published in Cureus has examined the reasons for non-attendance among a small sample of patients eligible for diabetic eye screening at an East Midlands GP practice.

The study involved a retrospective clinical audit of patients attending The Park Surgery.

Among the practice’s 9000 patients, 602 individuals were on the diabetes register. Within this group there was a 77% uptake of yearly diabetic eye screening – exceeding the NHS target uptake of 75%.

Researchers interviewed a group of 21 patients who had attended diabetic eye screening in the past but had not attended their screening appointment in the past 15 months.

The most common reason given in interviews for not attending a diabetic eye screening appointment related to mental health concerns.

The next most common explanation was multi-factorial, with respondents attributing their decision to a range of factors including busy lifestyles, a lack of current visual issues and low perceived importance of diabetic eye screening.

Other reasons uncovered through the interviews included transport difficulties, not receiving the reminder letter, illness, and a lack of awareness of diabetic eye screening.

The researchers put forward proposed interventions to increase the uptake of diabetic eye screening, including telephone prompts for patients with mental health concerns, text message reminders, and online educational tools to improve uptake.

“Despite standards exceeding the national guidelines, this audit demonstrates the importance of addressing specific barriers to enhance screening rates, potentially increasing the detection of early retinopathy and improving patient outcomes,” the researchers emphasised.