Out of practice: why some people need domiciliary sight tests
11 March 2019
Volume 20, Issue 1
This paper gives a review of the people who access domiciliary eye care in the UK based on a large cohort of electronic records.
Abstract
Aims: To describe a population who accessed domiciliary sight tests, due to difficulty accessing high-street practices over a 1-year period.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of electronic records of domiciliary sight tests predominantly delivered in people’s own homes.
Results: The uptake of home visit sight tests by those who find conventional services difficult to access is small. People accessing home visit sight tests are usually older than the rest of the population, more likely to be female and most likely to have their mobility restricted by arthritis. The likelihood of age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and registered sight impairment in this sample increases with age. Less than 5% of those who access a home eye test have dementia as the reason for the visit.
Conclusions: Awareness of the demographics of those who seek a home visit eye test will inform future planning for an increasingly older population.
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