Telepresence Robots in Glaucoma Patient Education
abstract
This abstract is available on the publisher's site.
Access this abstract nowPRÉCIS
Telepresence robots present the versatility to effectively provide remote educational sessions for patients affected by glaucoma to improve disease knowledge. Given COVID-19's effect on clinical practice, telepresence robots can maintain social distancing when educating patients.
PURPOSE
Telepresence robots (TR) are devices that allow remote users to have a mobile presence anywhere. We compared the effect of an education session given by an in-person educator versus a TR on glaucoma knowledge and identified factors that impact patient education.
METHODS
Eighty-five glaucoma patients were split into control, human, and TR groups. We measured glaucoma knowledge scores (KS) using the National Eye Institute's Eye-Q Test. Human and TR groups had the education session with a human or TR followed by the questionnaire. The control group was administered the questionnaire without an education session. Treatment regimen recall (RR) greater than 90% was considered a success. We used linear regression and binary logistic regression to determine variables that affect KS and RR, respectively.
RESULTS
Mean age was 58.3±2.8 years. 49% were female. Mean KS were 5.8±0.7 in the control group (n=31), 7.9±0.5 in the TR group (n=26), and 8.4±0.5 in the human group (n=28). Control participants had a lower mean KS than the human or TR groups (P<0.001). Having the education session (2.5, P<0.001), education greater than high school (0.8, P=0.016), and diabetes (-0.7, P=0.037) affected KS. Having diabetes (OR=0.14, P=0.014) negatively affected RR. Having the education session may affect RR (OR=5.47, P=0.07), warranting additional studies.
CONCLUSIONS
Education sessions with a human and TR improved patients' glaucoma KS. TRs may serve as an alternative to in-person education sessions and allow educators to safely and effectively educate patients remotely to adhere to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines.
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Additional Info
Disclosure statements are available on the authors' profiles:
Use of Telepresence Robots in Glaucoma Patient Education
J. Glaucoma 2020 Dec 17;[EPub Ahead of Print], A Ooms, I Shaikh, N Patel, T Kardashian-Sieger, N Srinivasan, B Zhou, L Wilson, B Szirth, AS KhouriFrom MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
The article compared three groups of patients who received instruction either by a human in-person educator or by a telepresence robot (TR) or no instruction at all regarding glaucoma. Patient knowledge was evaluated utilizing glaucoma knowledge scores (KS) using the National Eye Institute’s Eye-Q Test. The authors conclude, "Education sessions with a human and TR improved patients’ glaucoma KS. TRs may serve as an alternative to in-person education sessions and allow educators to safely and effectively educate patients remotely to adhere to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines." Specifically, there was no difference in improvements in glaucoma KS between the in-person or TR-led education sessions. The authors also discuss the content of the educational sessions relative to patient knowledge. The comments relative to diabetic patients also are interesting. The potential drawbacks of using TR technology should be useful to those considering potentially utilizing this technology.
This is another interesting article reflecting ingenuity given impetus by COVID-19, when time and resources for patient education are frequently limiting factors. The authors note that, in communities that lack resources or personnel for in-person education sessions, telepresence robots (TR) can safely deliver direct, real-time contact with remote educators. TR systems have a video conferencing module mounted on a mobile robotic base, consisting of the physical robot and the computer interface needed to pilot the robot. The local user can move around freely while interacting with the pilot via the TR. Apparently this is better received than Skype or Zoom. The authors report that TRs have been successfully implemented for care in elderly, disabled, and trauma patients, providing social support, biophysical feedback, and a direct line of communication between providers and patients, and that telemedicine education programs via TR systems may be a possible strategy that can increase access and adherence to routine eye care.