Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK.
Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK.
Clin Exp Optom. 2023 Jul;106(5):544-550. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2022.2065189. Epub 2022 Jun 2.
It is important to investigate whether anxiety is a barrier to accessing eye examinations for autistic adults, because existing research suggests this population are more likely to develop ophthalmic abnormalities.
Anxiety influences healthcare accessibility for autistic people without learning disabilities. Previous qualitative studies by the research team, with a small sample of autistic adults, have indicated several aspects of eyecare services which cause anxiety. Considering the limited existing research suggesting autistic individuals are more likely to develop ophthalmic abnormalities, this study explored whether this population more widely experiences anxiety when accessing eye examinations.
A total of 322 UK-based autistic adults completed the Optometric Patient Anxiety Scale (OPAS) online, between July and December 2020. Rasch analysis was used to validate this questionnaire for an autistic adult population, and compare optometric anxiety levels to the general population.
Item infit (0.77 to 1.39) and outfit (0.78 to 1.33) values, the person separation index (2.64), and item (0.99) and person (0.97) reliability coefficients suggested that all 10 items in the OPAS are useful to assess optometric anxiety in an autistic adult population. Item probability curves confirmed the response scale to be appropriate. A comparison of optometric anxiety between the autistic population in the current study and a general population in previous work found no statistically significant difference.
The OPAS is a statistically valid tool for use in the autistic adult population. It appears to suggest no significant difference in optometric anxiety between the autistic adult and general population. However, it is possible that it underestimates the true optometric anxiety of autistic adults since the items do not include some of the anxiety provoking factors for this population which have been indicated in previous studies by the research team.
有必要研究焦虑是否会成为阻碍自闭症成人接受眼部检查的因素，因为现有研究表明，该人群更有可能出现眼部异常。
焦虑会影响无学习障碍的自闭症患者获得医疗保健的机会。研究团队之前对一小部分自闭症成年人进行的定性研究表明，眼科保健服务的几个方面会引起焦虑。考虑到现有的研究表明自闭症个体更有可能出现眼部异常，本研究探讨了这一人群在接受眼部检查时是否更普遍地感到焦虑。
2020 年 7 月至 12 月期间，共有 322 名英国自闭症成年人在线完成了眼科患者焦虑量表（OPAS）。使用 Rasch 分析对该问卷进行了验证，以适用于自闭症成年人，并将其与普通人群的验光焦虑水平进行比较。
项目内特质量表（0.77 至 1.39）和项目外特质量表（0.78 至 1.33）、个体分离指数（2.64）以及项目（0.99）和个体（0.97）可靠性系数表明，OPAS 的 10 个项目均适用于评估自闭症成年人的验光焦虑。项目概率曲线证实了该反应量表是合适的。与研究团队之前的一项普通人群研究相比，当前研究中的自闭症人群的验光焦虑比较没有发现统计学上的显著差异。
OPAS 是一种在自闭症成年人中使用的具有统计学有效性的工具。它似乎表明，自闭症成年人和普通人群之间的验光焦虑没有显著差异。然而，由于该问卷并未包含研究团队之前的研究中指出的一些会引起该人群焦虑的因素，因此它可能低估了自闭症成年人的真实验光焦虑程度。
