Department of Ophthalmology, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Curr Eye Res. 2024 Dec;49(12):1231-1236. doi: 10.1080/02713683.2024.2382842. Epub 2024 Jul 29.
It is well-known that patients' perceptions of their disease can impact management strategies and disease outcomes. Limited knowledge exists on such perceptions in dry eye disease (DED) and the role of language in these perceptions. Herein, we compared the perceptions about DED between Spanish- and English-speaking patients.
This cross-sectional study included 146 patients with DED who underwent ophthalmic evaluation and completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of DED on a 10-point scale during their routine appointments. Perceptions included opinions on the level of satisfaction with understanding of DED, ease of following doctor's advice, effectiveness of treatment, satisfaction with DED care, and outlook on DED. Perceptions were categorized as low (scores 0-2), moderate (scores 3-7), and high (scores 8-10). The percentage of patients with high perception scores were then compared between Spanish- and English-speaking patients.
There were 48 Spanish speakers and 98 English speakers. Overall, high scores of DED perceptions were identified in 47.9% for satisfaction with the level of understanding of DED, 72.6% for ease of following doctor's advice, 52.1% for helpfulness of DED treatment, 64.4% for satisfaction with DED care, and 52.1% for optimistic outlook on DED. High scores for satisfaction with the level of understanding of DED were significantly lower in Spanish speakers (27.1%) than English speakers (58.2%, < .001). No significant differences were observed in other perceptions between Spanish- and English-speaking participants.
Spanish-speaking subjects reported lower satisfaction with their understanding of DED than English speakers. Clinicians should provide health services and educational materials in the patient's preferred language to minimize barriers to understanding their disease.
众所周知，患者对疾病的认知会影响管理策略和疾病结局。然而，关于干眼（DED）患者的此类认知以及语言在这些认知中的作用，目前我们的了解还很有限。在此，我们比较了西班牙语和英语 DED 患者的认知。
本横断面研究纳入了 146 名 DED 患者，他们在常规就诊期间接受了眼科评估，并使用 10 分制问卷评估了他们对 DED 的认知，包括对理解 DED 的满意度、遵循医生建议的难易程度、治疗效果、对 DED 护理的满意度以及对 DED 的展望等方面的认知。认知被分为低（得分 0-2）、中（得分 3-7）和高（得分 8-10）。然后，比较了西班牙语和英语患者之间高认知评分的患者比例。
有 48 名西班牙语患者和 98 名英语患者。总体而言，47.9%的患者对理解 DED 的水平表示满意，72.6%的患者表示容易遵循医生的建议，52.1%的患者认为 DED 的治疗有帮助，64.4%的患者对 DED 的护理满意，52.1%的患者对 DED 的前景感到乐观。西班牙语患者对理解 DED 的满意度评分（27.1%）显著低于英语患者（58.2%，<0.001）。西班牙语和英语患者在其他认知方面没有显著差异。
西班牙语患者报告对 DED 的理解满意度低于英语患者。临床医生应提供患者首选语言的医疗服务和教育材料，以尽量减少理解疾病的障碍。
