Chauhan Hanish
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UK.
Br Ir Orthopt J. 2024 Aug 14;20(1):171-182. doi: 10.22599/bioj.314. eCollection 2024.
Eye drops instillation in children is a fundamental part of accurately examining a child's eyes. Unfortunately eye drops can be a distressing experience for children, parents/guardians and orthoptists. The purpose of this research is to focus on the experiences of orthoptists and delve deeper into their views and explore if improvements can be made.
This was a Qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with 8 registered and currently practicing orthoptists in the UK. The interviews were undertaken online via Microsoft TEAMS. Thematic analysis was carried out for the purposes of data analysis.
3 major themes were identified (1) how orthoptist frame instilling eye drops, (2) techniques to address challenges, and (3) improvements to eye drops instillation process. Orthoptists were aware that instilling eye drops in children brought specific challenges such as distress and resistance; however they saw it as an essential part of their job. Orthoptists understood their role within a wider team which delivered eye care to children effectively and that there was a division of they believed that. Orthoptists were aware that the eye drops may cause some distress, however this did not affect compliance with treatment such as wearing glasses and/or a patch. Orthoptists believed verbal and non-verbal communication with the child was essential. Help was sought from parents or colleagues for physical restraint if required. Orthoptists suggested adapting to children with additional needs and giving out eye drops to parents/carers to instill at home if dilation in the eye clinic became difficult. They suggested improvements such as assistance from play specialists, developing a pre-procedural information video, practise as a student, the study of the medical exemptions module and the potential of using eye sprays instead of eye drops.
The study reiterates the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication. The results may facilitate recommendations for change such as encouraging the study of medical exemptions and help support a case for play specialist support regularly, and the encouragement to develop a pre-procedural information video to improve quality of care. This is currently inconsistent across different Trusts in the UK. The study could result in improvements to current practise and influence other fields of medicine such as blood tests and MRI scans in children. The study also recommends further studies to investigate the parental perspective of instillation of eye drops in their child's eyes when they attend the eye clinic.
给儿童滴眼药水是准确检查儿童眼睛的重要环节。不幸的是，滴眼药水对儿童、家长/监护人以及眼科视光师来说可能是一段痛苦的经历。本研究旨在聚焦眼科视光师的经历，深入探究他们的观点，并探讨是否能够做出改进。
这是一项定性研究，对英国8名注册且目前仍在执业的眼科视光师进行了半结构化访谈。访谈通过微软团队在线进行。为了进行数据分析，开展了主题分析。
确定了3个主要主题：（1）眼科视光师如何看待滴眼药水，（2）应对挑战的技巧，以及（3）滴眼药水过程的改进。眼科视光师意识到给儿童滴眼药水会带来诸如痛苦和抗拒等特殊挑战；然而，他们将其视为工作的重要组成部分。眼科视光师明白他们在一个更广泛的团队中的角色，该团队有效地为儿童提供眼部护理，并且他们认为存在分工。眼科视光师意识到眼药水可能会引起一些痛苦，然而这并不影响诸如戴眼镜和/或眼罩等治疗的依从性。眼科视光师认为与儿童进行言语和非言语沟通至关重要。如有需要，会寻求家长或同事进行身体约束方面的帮助。眼科视光师建议适应有特殊需求的儿童，如果在眼科诊所散瞳变得困难，可以将眼药水交给家长/照顾者在家中滴注。他们提出了一些改进建议，如游戏专家的协助、制作术前信息视频、作为学生时的练习、医学豁免模块的学习以及使用眼喷雾而非眼药水的可能性。
该研究重申了言语和非言语沟通至关重要。研究结果可能有助于提出变革建议，例如鼓励学习医学豁免内容，并有助于定期支持游戏专家提供帮助的案例，以及鼓励制作术前信息视频以提高护理质量。目前英国不同信托机构在这方面并不一致。该研究可能会改进当前的做法，并影响儿童血液检查和核磁共振扫描等其他医学领域。该研究还建议进一步开展研究，以调查家长在带孩子去眼科诊所时对给孩子滴眼药水的看法。
