The Vision Detroit Project: Integrated Screening and Community Eye-Health Education Interventions Improve Eyecare Awareness.

Purpose: Poor eye-health knowledge and health literacy are pervasive, contributing to worse outcomes. This study aims to examine short- and long-term eye-health knowledge retention following eye-health education interventions in adults.

Methods: Vision Detroit was an outreach vision screening program that integrated a 5-Point Teaching Intervention (5PTI), at a Southwest Community Center (SW-CC) from 2015-2017. The 5PTI consists of eye-health learning points developed to verbally educate patients. During vision screenings, eye-health knowledge tests were administered before and after 5PTI (Test 1 and Test 2, respectively). In 2016, Community Eye-Health Education Interventions (CHEI) were initiated at the SW-CC. During CHEI, bilingual healthcare students taught voluntary SW-CC members the 5PTI learning points, regardless of participant interest to attend future screenings. CHEI sessions occurred on separate dates prior to vision screening events. Test 1 and Test 2 scores were compared for all participants. Test 1 scores were compared for those who underwent CHEI prior to vision screening (CHEI positive) versus those who did not (CHEI negative).

Results: Two-hundred-seventeen adult patients met inclusion criteria, with 75.8% women, 82.6% Hispanic, mean age 50.4 ± 16.2 years, 74.6% had high school or less education, and 49.2% had health insurance. Test 1 to Test 2 scores improved after 5PTI (71.2 ± 26.4% vs. 97.2 ± 9.9%, p < .00001). Forty-eight participants attended CHEI and subsequent vision screening. Test 1 scores were higher among those CHEI positive versus CHEI negative (81.1 ± 2.1% vs. 68.3 ± 3.4%, p = .0027).

Conclusion: Simple eye-health education interventions, delivered during vision screenings and via community-based education, can improve eye-health knowledge.