COVID-19 Pandemic: Are We Back to Normal?

Mahmoudinezhad, Golnoush; Moghimi, Sasan; Weinreb, Robert N.

doi:10.1097/ijg.0000000000001590

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Similarly, our study found that nearly half of patients with glaucoma did not always have someone to take them to the doctor if they needed it (Table 3 ). These transportation issues highlight the need for providers to offer a variety of access options, even in the years after the pandemic, including telehealth visits [ 5 , 7 ], mobile eye clinics [ 49 ], and utilizing devices such as home-based intraocular pressure monitoring [ 50 ]. This is especially true for patients of low socioeconomic status, who already have lower disease awareness and treatment adherence at baseline [ 51 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental health and social support among glaucoma patients enrolled in the NIH All of Us COVID-19 Participant Experience (COPE) survey

Delavar

Saseendrakumar

et al. 2023

BMC Ophthalmol

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for our society. In this study, we explore how measures of mental health, coping strategies, and social support during the pandemic varied by glaucoma status. Methods A cohort of patients aged 40 and over enrolled in the NIH All of Us Research Program, a nationwide longitudinal cohort, who answered the COVID-19 Participant Experience (COPE) survey was obtained. We analyzed several measures of mental health, coping strategies, and social support used during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveys were recurring and answered from May 2020 to February 2021. Demographics and the most recently answered survey responses were obtained and stratified by glaucoma status. Pearson’s Chi-squared tests and multivariable logistic regressions adjusting for age, gender, race, ethnicity, and income were used to generate p-values, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between outcome measures and glaucoma status. Results Of 42,484 patients who responded to All of Us COPE survey items, 2912 (6.9%) had a diagnosis of glaucoma. On Pearson’s Chi-squared tests glaucoma patients were less likely to report drinking alcohol (P = 0.003), eating more food than usual (P = 0.004), and using marijuana (P = 0.006) to cope with social distancing than those without a diagnosis of glaucoma. Further, glaucoma patients had lower rates of probable mild, moderate, or severe depression as calculated by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores (P < 0.001) and had lower rates of reporting some or a lot of stress from social distancing (P < 0.001). However, glaucoma patients were less likely to report having someone to help prepare meals (P = 0.005) or help with daily chores (P = 0.003) if they became sick with COVID-19. In multivariable logistic regression analyses adjusting for confounding factors, no differences were found for measures of mental health or social support. Conclusions Glaucoma patients did not fare worse on many measures of mental health and coping strategies during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic compared those without glaucoma. However, a substantial proportion of glaucoma patients still endorsed stress, social isolation, and probable depression, representing challenges for disease management.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental health and social support among glaucoma patients enrolled in the NIH All of Us COVID-19 Participant Experience (COPE) survey

Delavar

Saseendrakumar

et al. 2023

BMC Ophthalmol

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“…The pandemic's influence on surgical trends in the United States has yet to be formally evaluated. Additional goals for improving glaucoma care in the post-COVID era include harnessing technological advances to identify our most vulnerable patients (e.g., those at risk for rapid progression), improve equitable access to care [ 59 ▪ , 61 ▪ ], and promote health literacy through online platforms [ 46 ▪ , 80 ▪ ], with a continued emphasis on safety and efficiency during in-person visits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How glaucoma care changed for the better after the pandemic

Vinod

Sidoti

2021

Current Opinion in Ophthalmology

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Purpose of review The current article reviews enhancements to the delivery of glaucoma care that developed in response to the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic and are likely to persist beyond its resolution. Recent findings Literature from the review period (2020–2021) includes reports highlighting contributions of the ophthalmology community to global health during the pandemic. Glaucoma practices worldwide have instituted more robust infection control measures to mitigate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmission in the outpatient setting, and many of these modifications will endure in the post-COVID era. Operational adjustments have led to the provision of more efficient glaucoma care. A hybrid care model involving technician-based diagnostic testing and subsequent virtual consultation with a glaucoma specialist has evolved as a useful adjunct to traditional face-to-face encounters with patients. Summary Glaucoma specialists, patients, and staff have adapted to a ‘new normal’ of glaucoma care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although innovation has propelled several improvements to glaucoma care during this global health crisis, significant barriers to more widespread implementation of teleglaucoma still exist. Whether, and in what capacity, the pandemic has permanently altered glaucoma practice patterns remains to be seen.

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“…The first step to manage the outcomes mentioned above is to consider tele-screening and triaging to identify suspicious patients remotely when scheduling appointments (Mahmoudinezhad et al 2020). Additionally, careful prescreening like asking patient's travel history and measuring temperature using a non-contact forehead thermometer, wearing a surgical mask, covering the mouth and nose with a tissue while coughing, disinfecting inanimate public contact consistently and correctly with various types of hospital-level disinfectants (such as sodium hypochlorite and 70% ethanol) are the other ways to make the dental office a safer place for treating the emergency dental condition.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%