Nurse-led diabetic retinopathy screening: a pilot study to evaluate a new approach to vision care for Canadian Aboriginal peoples.

Nurse-led diabetic retinopathy screening: a pilot study to evaluate a new approach to vision care for Canadian Aboriginal peoples. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2018 Dec;77(1):1422670 Authors: Spurr S, Bullin C, Bally J, Trinder K, Khan S Abstract Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of new cases of blindness and is pandemic among Aboriginal people around the world. To reduce health inequities, accessible vision screening among these high-risk populations is essential. To assess cardio-metabolic co-morbidities associated with type 2 diabetes and the use of a portable fundus camera as a novel approach for convenient, earlier and more accessible vision screening for Aboriginal peoples living with type 2 diabetes in northern and remote Canadian communities. This quantitative pilot study screened participants diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for commonly associated cardio-metabolic co-morbidities using anthropometrical measurements, blood pressure and a A1c (HbA1c) blood glucose test, followed by vision exams conducted first by a trained nurse and then by an ophthalmologist to screen for signs of retinopathy using fundus photography. Large numbers of the participants presented with overweight/obese (84.8%), pre-hypertension/hypertension (69.7%) and an elevated A1C (78.8%). Inter-rater reliability demonstrated substantial agreement between vision exam judgements made by the nurse and ophthalmologist (k = .67). Nurse-led vision screen...
Source: International Journal of Circumpolar Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Int J Circumpolar Health Source Type: research