TY - JOUR T1 - Assessment of the perception of healthcare barriers and the impact of intravitreal injections on neovascular age-related macular degeneration JO - Archivos de la Sociedad Española de Oftalmología (English Edition) T2 - AU - Fernández-Vigo,J.I. AU - Burgos-Blasco,B. AU - Calvo-González,C. AU - Escobar,M.J. AU - Shi,H. AU - Jiménez-Santos,M. AU - Valverde-Megías,A. AU - Reche-Frutos,J. AU - López-Guajardo,L. AU - Donate-López,J. SN - 21735794 M3 - 10.1016/j.oftale.2021.02.006 DO - 10.1016/j.oftale.2021.02.006 UR - https://www.elsevier.es/en-revista-archivos-sociedad-espanola-oftalmologia-english-496-articulo-assessment-perception-healthcare-barriers-impact-S2173579421001870 AB - AimTo evaluate the perception of barriers in healthcare and the impact of intravitreal injections in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). MethodsCross-sectional study including 108 patients with nAMD in treatment with intravitreal injections. The patients answered a questionnaire with 26 questions (score from 1 to 5) divided in three sections: 1) the disease and its treatment with injections, 2) healthcare barriers and 3) new technologies. ResultsThe mean age was 80.4 ± 7.0 years and visual acuity (VA) was 75.2 ± 12.4 letters. The main barriers in healthcare were long waiting times (72%), followed by other comorbidities (10%). Some 63% of patients have to wait between 3 and 5 h to attend their clinical visit. Significant anxiety due to the injections (2.8 ± 1.3) was observed, being present in 71% of the cases the day before. A great fear of blindness and losing independence was observed (4.4 ± 0.9 and 4.3 ± 1.1), with no differences in relation to VA, age or sex (p ≥ 0.135). Moreover, 28% of the patients reported that it was quite or very difficult for them to attend the clinical visit, with 69% of the total showing great interest in having a diagnostic device at home. ConclusionThe nAMD and its treatment represent a significant burden on patients, among whom there is a great fear of blindness and of losing their independence, the main barrier being the long waiting time for the clinical visit. ER -