An “Australia-first” service giving people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) free access to health information is getting the thumbs-up from users.
The Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA) Eye Connect support service, which was launched earlier this year, offers people living with AMD access to evidence-based health information, practical advice and emotional support in between appointments with their eye health professional.
As part of a recent evaluation of the service, MDFA conducted a survey with the first 150 Eye Connect participants, which revealed:
- 98% of respondents would recommend the service to their family or friends.
- 75% of respondents reported that the service positively impacted their general wellbeing.
- The diagnosis of most people accessing the service was neovascular AMD (56%); followed by geographic atrophy (26%). Early AMD represented 13%, and 5% reported having intermediate AMD.
- The service users were predominantly women (81%) and were aged 70 years or more (82%), with the largest proportion aged 85 years and over.
Foundation CEO Dr Kathy Chapman said the early response to Eye Connect – which she said was the first comprehensive service of its kind in Australia – was very encouraging.
“We developed Eye Connect because we knew that people living with macular disease would benefit from access to evidence-based information and support when they are not in a clinical setting,” said Dr Chapman.
“Our evaluation indicates that people are finding the service useful, and it has also highlighted ways in which we can further improve and tailor Eye Connect to meet participants’ needs.”
Part of that improvement may include expansion of that support to a number of other macular conditions in the near future.
“We are accepting more referrals to Eye Connect, so I encourage eye health professionals to refer their patients to the service or contact MDFA if they have any questions.”
One Eye Connect participant, Josephine, said: “I’ve been living with age-related macular degeneration for 26 years. Eye Connect has been so helpful; it makes me feel like I have it under control and it’s going to be okay.”
Professionals looking to refer a patient can visit www.mdfoundation.com.au/health-professional/refer-to-eyeconnect/. Eye health professionals can also refer via Oculo or call MDFA on (Aus) 1800 111 709. Patients can self-refer via MDFA’s website or over the phone.
More reading
MDFA launches Australia’s first comprehensive AMD support service
Evolving GA landscape prompts RANZCO AMD referral pathway update
Turning our attention to age-related macular degeneration – Specsavers
