Adherence to Intravitreal Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (Anti-VEGF) Drugs in Diabetic Macular Edema in an Egyptian Population: A Health Belief Model

<p>Factors Affecting Compliance to Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema in a Cohort of Jordanian Patients</p>

“…They found that receiving bilateral injections at the same session correlated with the rate of adherence. 58 Our center previously reported a trend towards more bilateral simultaneous injections but this factor was not found to affect compliance in this study. 36 It is noteworthy that in our cohort of DME patients, compliance rate was positively correlated with the improvement of VA as perceived by the patient receiving the treatment.…”

“…Absence of funding/insurance, perceived susceptibility, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, and unilaterality of the injection are all factors that may affect patient compliance. 58 A quarter of DME patients were noncompliant in a similar study by Best et al 45 Since diabetic patients must attend different medical consultations, sometimes with several specialists, this burden of repeated consultations may be a barrier to regular follow up. In another recent study by Weiss et al, only 35% of patients were compliant.…”

“…A study by Habib et al found that approximately 21% of DME patients were noncompliant to follow up and treatment with anti-VEGFs. 58 Main factors for noncompliance included cost of the drug being injected, whether the patient is covered by medical insurance or not, as well as the psychological burden and the degree of patients' satisfaction with having repeated intraocular injections. However, lack of formal education was not found to be a significant factor affecting compliance.…”

“…59 The psychological burden including stress, discomfort, and fear from possible side effects has also been reported to affect patient compliance. 23,58,60 In this study, we assessed compliance of DME patients to anti-VEGF treatment schedules over a period of 12 months. Approximately, 85% of patients were compliant with their treatment and follow-up plan during the first year of management, which mirrors results by previous investigators.…”

“…68 Stress, discomfort, and fear from possible side effects have been shown to have an effect on compliance. 23,58,60 In the study by Weiss et al, patients were followed for at least 1 year (up to 30 months) and compliance was measured by missed appointments (lateness >14 days) or therapy beak-offs (lateness >100days). 59 The investigators showed that disease insight had a significant effect on compliance, but our study did not mirror a similar effect.…”