Patients Who Ask Questions During Visits Have Better Glaucoma Med Adherence

Black patients with glaucoma are less likely to be educated about their condition from eyecare providers and also struggle with medication adherence more than their white counterparts. A new study proposed the benefit of showing these patients a video that discusses the importance of asking questions about glaucoma and drop adherence, as well as giving them specific questions to ask during visits. Those who did ask questions from the prompt list were more likely to take their medication as prescribed. Photo: Getty Images. Click image to enlarge. Prior research has shown that Black patients are less likely to receive glaucoma education from eyecare providers and more likely to struggle with medication adherence compared to white patients. In search of ways to address this disparity, a recent study sought to explore whether enhancing patient engagement by encouraging question-asking during visits could boost adherence. The researchers developed a pre-visit video intervention and question prompt list, which they found effectively increased patient inquiries and education on glaucoma topics, as well as improved medication adherence among those who did ask questions.The randomized controlled trial enrolled 189 Black patients diagnosed with glaucoma who reported nonadherence to prescribed medications. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group, which received a pre-visit video and a question prompt list, or a usual care group. The intervention involved an 11-minute educational video emphasizing the importance of asking questions about glaucoma and medication adherence, coupled with guidance on formulating specific questions to discuss during their eyecare visits.The results showed that patients in the intervention group were significantly more likely to ask one or more questions regarding their condition and treatment during visits (baseline and six months) compared to those in the usual care group. Electronic adherence data revealed that asking any number of questions during visits positively correlated with improved medication adherence, as patients presumably became more confident in managing their condition through active participation. Specifically, 35% of patients who viewed the pre-visit video and question prompt list took the correct number of doses each day during the 12-month follow-up compared to just 16% of the usual care group.Patient factors associated with better adherence included older age, taking only one glaucoma medication (vs. two or more) and longer medication duration (>two years).The researchers explained in their paper that while the pre-visit video and question prompt list didn’t directly improve adherence, those who received the intervention and asked questions during visits were significantly more likely to take their glaucoma medication as prescribed (compared to those who received the intervention but did not ask questions). They also pointed out that the intervention didn’t significantly increase visit length.“Future work should ask patients who receive glaucoma question prompt lists why they did or did not ask their eyecare providers any of the questions that they checked during visits so the intervention can be improved,” the researchers concluded.Click here for the journal source. Sleath B, Carpenter DM, Budenz DL, et al. Impact of a pre-visit glaucoma video/question prompt list intervention on Black patient eye drop adherence during a 12-month period: A randomized controlled trial. Optom Vis Sci. 2025;10:e001909. This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.