Acceptance, Attitudes, and Beliefs of Singaporean Chinese Toward an Ocular Implant for Glaucoma Drug Delivery

Abstract

PURPOSE. We investigated patients' attitudes and perceptions toward a subconjunctival implant as a novel ocular drug delivery method for glaucoma. METHODS.We recruited 344 Chinese patients with primary open angle or angle closure glaucoma currently on topical antiglaucoma medication for a minimum of six months from specialist glaucoma clinics. Sociodemographic data, and information about patients' general and ocular health were collected. Beliefs about medicines, glaucoma, eye drops, and self-reported adherence were assessed by trained interviewers using validated questionnaires. A description about the implant was provided and patients subsequently were assessed on their understanding and acceptance.RESULTS. Of the 344 Chinese patients enrolled, 216 (62.8%) would accept the implant as a replacement for their current eye drops. Of those who accepted the implant, 99 (45.8%) were willing to accept it at similar costs, while 40 (18.5%) and 20 (9.3%) patients were willing to pay 1.5 and 2 times the cost of their present medication, respectively. Patients who accepted the implant had more severe glaucoma (P ¼ 0.015) and felt that the implant was more helpful than eye drops (P < 0.001). Beliefs toward medicines, glaucoma, eye drops, selfreported adherence, and sociodemographic factors did not have a significant impact on the patients' decisions.CONCLUSIONS. An ocular drug implant would be an acceptable alternative to topical eye drops for subgroups of glaucoma patients. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012;53:8240-8245)

Subconjunctival Delivery of Dorzolamide-Loaded Poly(ether-anhydride) Microparticles Produces Sustained Lowering of Intraocular Pressure in Rabbits

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A Survey on the Preference of Sustained Glaucoma Drug Delivery Systems by Singaporean Chinese Patients

“…Recent studies by Foo et al 5 and Chong et al 4 support sustained release subconjunctival implants and subconjunctival injections, as patient-acceptable alternatives to conventional glaucoma eye drops. However, neither study assessed the sample's health literacy level objectively as a gauge of the patients' comprehension of the novel treatments.…”

“…In turn, this could yield better disease outcomes. Notably, there is a paucity of studies 4,5 investigating patient preferences and acceptance of these emerging sustained glaucoma drug delivery systems.…”

Public knowledge, attitude, and perception toward conventional and novel ocular treatment in Malaysia

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