A Novel Approach to Helping People with Glaucoma Use Their Drops Routinely

5 years ago

A Novel Approach to Helping People with Glaucoma Use Their Drops Routinely

John E. McDonald, Jane K. Dickinson

Pharmacy data reveal that 70% of patients were missing one or more days worth of drops out of five. Adopting approaches to behavior change and management skills used for people with diabetes may provide insight to improve self-management of glaucoma. Every person who is diagnosed with a chronic health condition such as glaucoma has unique life circumstances that may present barriers to behavior change. An accurate diagnosis and a treatment plan are useless if patients do not use their prescribed eye drops. Active listening and effective communication can result in persons who are more engaged in their self-care behaviors. Collaborative communication using person-centered and strengths-based messages could help eye care providers identify challenges and concerns for people with glaucoma who are experiencing inconsistencies with their eye drops. In an atmosphere where patients can discuss their challenges with treatment recommendations without judgment or fear, they are more likely to trust their provider and therefore share their situation openly and honestly. This is accomplished by choosing language that communicates mutually-agreed-upon self-management goals and addresses and strengthens individual and clinical outcomes. The eye care professional is then seen by the patient as a resource who can empathize when setbacks occur and reinforce the patient's self-management goals. Open-ended questions and tell-ask-tell approaches for identifying barriers to care are keys to more effective communication and trusting relationships. This includes recognizing that glaucoma is associated with increased rates of anxiety or depression that may be an overlooked barrier to self-management. By adopting language recommendations from diabetes care and education, eye care practitioners may be better equipped to help people with glaucoma improve their self-care.

Publisher URL: https://journals.lww.com/optvissci/Fulltext/2019/05000/A_Novel_Approach_to_Helping_People_with_Glaucoma.3.aspx

DOI: 10.1097/OPX.0000000000001366