Introduction Diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening relies on adherence to follow-up eye care. This article assesses if a model of patient education and tele-retina screening among high-risk patients with DR can achieve increased rates of compliance within a one-year follow-up. Methods Between May 2014 and May 2016, DR screening was conducted in a cohort of 101 patients with diabetes in Southern Ontario. Optical coherence tomography and fundus photography images were used to visualize the retina remotely. Enrolled patients participated in an educational seminar at the screening site with the expressed purpose of enhancing patient understanding of DR. A chi-squared test was used to assess patient compliance to follow-up examinations within 6–12 months, while pre-to post-screening HbA1c levels were compared using a dependent t-test. Results Of 101 patients who completed the study, 33 patients (32.6%) have never previously been screened for DR. Baseline compliance to annual screening increased from 36 patients (35.6%) to 51 patients (50.5%) after the tele-retina programme ( p = 0.03). Eighty-nine patients (88%) were referred to an optometrist for ongoing care compared with 12 patients (11.9%) to an ophthalmologist for management of DR. Overall, 100 patients (99.0%) were satisfied with the tele-retina screening. There was no significant change in pre- to-post screening HbA1c levels ( p = 0.91). Discussion Patient education-focused tele-retina screening for DR significantly increased compliance to follow-up in a high-risk, non-compliant patient population. Management of diabetes as captured by HbA1c levels remain unchanged in the cohort indicating a need for ongoing inter-professional collaboration in education and vision screening.

Background: Brucellosis, also called Malta fever, is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat from infected animals, or close contact with their secretions. Brucella species are small, Gram-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped (coccobacilli) bacteria. Objectives: The aim of this study is to perform an evaluation of Isfahan inhabitant attitude about brucellosis and its common herbal treatment. Patients and Methods:This evaluation was a simple random sample study, which was carried out on 162 people in the city of Isfahan, Iran, by means of questionnaires. The data was analyzed using SPSS for Windows (Version 21.0). Results: Of 162 people that were interviewed, 90 (55.6%) patients were male and the other were female. Of these, 74 (45.7%) patients were single and 88 (54.3%) were married. Forty-three (26.5%) participants lived in the city. The average age of participants was 11.51 ± 29.11 years. There is no significant relationship between age, gender, education level, residence, and people familiar with the disease brucellosis, herbal treatment for brucellosis (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Our data suggest that the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of people in Isfahan, Iran, show no relationship with the attitude of individuals regarding brucellosis and towards common herbal treatments for the disease.

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