PROTOCOLO DE ATENCIÓN OPTOMÉTRICA PARA PACIENTES CON GLAUCOMA

Abstract

Glaucoma is the second cause of blindness in Latin American people in people over 60 years; it is a disease that shows no signs, only when it is at an advanced level. The optometrist is responsible for timely diagnosis of this condition since he is in charge of primary visual health care. The objective of this work is to design a eye care protocol for glaucoma patients in Fundación Centro de Apoyo y Solidaridad C.A.S Alianza, in Portoviejo. For this, 30 patients were included, between men and women, who were treated and continue their treatment in this health care unit; the methodology used refers to a proactive design since the protocol was proposed through a survey validated by visual health professionals. The techniques used were established in a quasi-experimental model because it was concluded based on the opinions of the patients and the surveys validated by experts. The informed consents were requested in order to verify the information of the patients through their clinical histories. The results of the surveys allowed us to design the optometric attention protocol in a patient with glaucoma, and make a small comparison between it and the protocol that was taken as an example. In this study, it was found that 93% of patients do not know the type of glaucoma they suffer and that there is a higher prevalence of glaucoma in women, 73%, than in men, 27%.