Factors Influence the Selection of Myopia Management Modality for Myopic Patients

Abstract

Myopia is a global eye health issue that can be corrected with spectacles, contact lenses or refractive surgery. Spectacle correction is the most prevalent method of managing myopia. This study investigated the factors influencing myopic patients to choose spectacles compared to other methods. A questionnaire consisting of 25 questions using a Likert scale was developed and administered through an online Google form survey for data collection. The Cronbach's Alpha test was used for reliability and validity testing. A total of 150 participants (Age=25.82±7.26; Female=74.7%) completed the survey. The reliability and validity test showed that the questionnaires had good reliability and validity (Cronbach's α=0.881). Five factors were identified that indicated that myopic patients preferred spectacle compared to contact lenses and other methods. The five factors were practitioner's recommendations, quality, style preference, choice, and cost. The practitioner's suggestion scored the highest (80.4%) for myopic patients to choose spectacle correction followed by quality (78.5%), style preference (73.2%), choice (64.5%) and cost (50.7%). Patients did not wear contact lenses because they may cause possible infections (71.3%) and complications (66.6%). Conclusion: This study reveals that six factors influenced the decisions of myopic patients to choose spectacle correction compared to other methods, and the practitioner’s suggestions and style are the main factors. Practitioners could use these factors to improve their services to match the needs and expectations of their patients for myopia management.