Motivators and deterrents for seeking eye care in a Canadian region

Abstract

Background Motivators and deterrents for seeking eye care in a Canadian setting were sought using a qualitative study. Provincial deregulation of eyewear dispensing in 2010 allows consumers to order eyewear without an optical prescription, thus eliminating a potential motivator for obtaining an eye examination. Methods Convenience sampling was used to obtain 25 members of the public who contributed to one of seven focus groups that were facilitated, audiotaped, anonymised and transcribed. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire. Focus group data analysis employed grounded theory and theme saturation determined the number of focus groups. Results Nine men and 16 women participated, ranging in age from 18 to 71 years (mean 41.5; median 40.0). Three main themes were identified as influencers for seeking eye care: priority; advice; and capacity. Priority served as a motivator (‘lived experience’, ‘symptoms’, and ‘habit’) and deterrent (‘test distress’, ‘asymptomatic’, ‘don't know’ and ‘other priorities’). Advice was a motivator (‘professional’ and ‘family/friends’), while capacity was a motivator (‘insurance’) and deterrent (‘cost’). Conclusion The motivators and deterrents of seeking eye care in these focus groups were framed by three themes. Key findings not reported previously included the motivators of ‘habit’, ‘advice’ and ‘insurance’ and the potential deterrent of ‘test distress’. These factors should be added to other previously reported motivators and deterrents in further exploration of Canadian eye‐care seeking behaviours. Such knowledge is needed to develop strategies for improving eye‐care literacy in Canada. This is particularly important because eyewear deregulation and/or online eye examinations may encourage members of the public to bypass comprehensive eye care without fully understanding the implications of this decision for their health and wellness.

Patient views about online purchasing of eyewear

“…The appeal of inexpensive eyewear is not surprising considering the results of previous research identifying high cost (and lack of insurance) as barriers to regular eye care 13 . The ACLM survey 11 found that 91% of respondents cited price as the reason for online purchasing of contact lenses.…”

“…The appeal of inexpensive eyewear is not surprising considering the results of previous research identifying high cost (and lack of insurance) as barriers to regular eye care. 13 The ACLM survey 11 found that 91% of respondents cited price as the reason for online purchasing of contact lenses. Similarly, optimising convenience (41% in the ACLM contact lens survey 11 ) has been cited as a draw for consumers in research dating from the 1960s, decades before the rise of e-commerce.…”

“…The transcriptions were coded into common themes and sub‐themes, which were only considered relevant if they contained multiple occurrences of similar responses. The methods have been described previously in detail 12,13 …”

“…We know that many people think eye examinations are primarily about replacing eyewear 12 and that they believe eye problems will be associated with obvious symptoms. 12,[21][22][23][24] We also know that the general public has a limited understanding of ocular health, particularly with respect to the role of eye examinations, common eye diseases and their treatment, 2,3,12,13 and the risk factors for eye disease. 3 With these findings in mind, our concerns shift from product reliability to consumer wellbeing.…”

“…We conducted a qualitative research study to find out what members of the public know about ocular health and eye care, and have reported on attitudes towards eye care 12 as well as motivators for and deterrents to seeking eye care, 13 both topics that we set out to understand better. Although we did not explicitly intend to explore attitudes towards Internet purchasing, the topic arose spontaneously in four out of seven focus groups.…”