Patient barriers and facilitators for making environmental and behavioral modifications for dry eye in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Managing dry eye disease (DED) is expensive. Often, prescribed treatments improve clinical signs but not patient-reported symptoms. In large surveys, clinicians and patients ranked environmental and behavioral modifications among the most important DED-related research priorities. Our purpose was to investigate the barriers to and facilitators of use of these modifications by patients with DED in the United States and how their use may be impacted by socioeconomic status (SES). METHODS: Using Qualtrics, we conducted an anonymous online survey of adults with DED living in the United States in August to September 2022. Patients were identified through the Dry Eye Foundation, Sjögren's Foundation, and a DED clinic in Colorado. We used an established index for classifying respondent SES based on education, household income, and employment. Outcomes included use of environmental and behavioral modifications and barriers to and facilitators of their use. RESULTS: We included 754 respondents (SES: 382 low, 275 high, and 97 unclear). Most were aged 18 to 49 years (67%), female (68%), and White (76%) and reported dealing with DED for ≤5 years (67%). The most frequent modifications were taking breaks to rest eyes (68%), increasing water intake (68%), and using hot/cold compresses (52%). For these three, the biggest facilitators were as follows: belief that the modification works (27 to 37%), being recommended it (24 to 26%), and ease of use/performance (21 to 32%). Across modifications, the biggest barriers were difficulty of use (55%), lack of family/employer/social/community support (33%), and lack of awareness (32%). The data do not suggest discernible patterns of differences in barriers or facilitators by SES. CONCLUSIONS: Greater emphasis should be placed on explaining to patients how environmental and behavioral modifications might mitigate DED. Employers and members of patients' support systems should be guided regarding how best to support patients in managing DED symptoms.

Patient perspectives on dry eye disease and chronic ocular surface pain: Insights from a virtual community-moderated dialogue.

PURPOSE: To understand patients' perspectives on living with dry eye disease (DED), and on the unmet needs in DED and chronic ocular surface pain (COSP) management. METHODS: A moderated, structured discussion with patients with ocular surface diseases and healthcare professionals (HCPs) was conducted using a virtual platform to capture patients' journey with DED, their opinion on unmet needs, and design and conduct of clinical trials in DED and COSP. RESULTS: Nine participants, including four patient representatives from patient organisations, one ophthalmologist and one optometrist participated in the discussion. Patients had DED of varying severity and aetiology; three patients had Sjögren's. Over 4 weeks, 785 posts were entered on the platform. Prior to diagnosis, patients rarely associated their symptoms with DED. Convenience and symptomatic relief scored higher than treating the disease. Patients expressed the need for plain language information and dialogue with knowledgeable and sensitive HCPs. Online forums and social media were suggested as key recruitment resources, whereas convenience and safety concerns were highlighted as main barriers to enrolment. The need for the inclusion of outcome measures that have a real impact on patients' experience of their condition was highlighted. Both target product profiles were received positively by participants, highlighting the twice-daily dosing regimen and convenience of the products. Participants acknowledged the value of digital tools and suggested the need to feel valued post-trial. CONCLUSIONS: This moderated dialogue provided actionable insights on the unmet needs in DED and useful inputs for consideration when designing future clinical trials for DED and COSP.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eye strain and dry eye symptoms.

PURPOSE: Among adult individuals with dry eye, assess the self-reported impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on (1) dry eye-related visual function, (2) reading efficiency, and (3) dry eye treatments used. METHODS: In June-July 2020, we conducted an online survey of adults with dry eye who spent at least somewhat more time at home during the pandemic than before. Consistent with TFOS DEWS II guidelines, we categorized respondents into mild, moderate, or severe dry eye based on treatment usage. RESULTS: We included 388 respondents: 97 respondents (25%) with mild, 80 (21%) with moderate, and 211 (54%) with severe dry eye. In all three groups, screen/reading time generally doubled during the pandemic. Reduced work-related efficiency was noted by a considerable proportion of respondents (moderate dry eye: 51%, mild: 39%, and severe: 38%). Compared with respondents with mild dry eye, respondents with moderate dry eye were considerably more likely to note worsening symptoms: eye pain (OR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.22-5.41), headache from eye symptoms (OR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.11-4.90), and difficulty concentrating because of eye symptoms (OR = 2.79, 95% CI 1.37-5.66). Respondents with moderate dry eye with Sjögren's syndrome were most likely to note these. Respondents with severe dry eye were more likely than respondents with mild dry eye to report losing access to dry eye-related treatments (OR = 2.62, 95% CI 1.36-5.03). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic-related eye strain may be impacting symptoms, performance, and ultimately employment, especially for those with moderate dry eye. This may be compounding the already-high dry eye-related societal burden.

Research Questions and Outcomes Prioritized by Patients With Dry Eye.

Importance: Dry eye is a common ocular surface condition with significant influence on patient quality of life and societal economic burden. There is an urgent need to prioritize new research for dry eye. Objective: To identify and rank research questions and outcomes important to patients with dry eye. Design, Setting, and Participants: This study was conducted using the following 6 steps: (1) identifying research questions from a previous survey of clinicians who treat patients with dry eye; (2) identifying outcomes from existing research (systematic reviews and their cited clinical trials in the Cochrane Eyes and Vision US Satellite database of eyes and vision reviews, and National Eye Institute-funded clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov) as of June 13, 2017; (3) identifying a sample of patients with dry eye from the email subscribers to the online newsletter KeratoScoop; (4) and (5) conducting a 2-round Delphi survey of those patients online in November and December 2017, respectively; and (6) designating and ranking questions and outcomes as important. Main Outcomes and Measures: Importance assigned to research questions and outcomes for dry eye. A research question or outcome ranked by at least 75% of patients as 6 or higher on a scale of 0 to 10 was considered important. Results: Among the 420 patients from 15 countries who completed both rounds of the Delphi survey, most were 60 years of age or older (233 [56%]), female (348 [83%]), white (393 [94%]), and of non-Hispanic ethnicity (398 [95%]). Among the 12 questions that clinicians had previously prioritized, patients rated 8 as important. The top 3 questions pertained to effectiveness of patient education, environmental modifications, and topical anti-inflammatory eye drops for dry eye. Among the 109 outcomes identified in existing research on dry eye, patients rated 26 as important. Ten of these 26 were unpopular in existing research, with fewer than 10% of 158 studies reporting these outcomes. Of the 10 most important outcomes, 9 were associated with symptoms or quality of life. The 3 outcomes rated most important by patients were ocular burning or stinging, ocular discomfort, and ocular pain. Conclusions and Relevance: This study identified research questions and outcomes important to patients with dry eye. A considerable gap was noted between outcomes in existing research on dry eye and outcomes patients consider important. Future research on dry eye should consider addressing the important research questions and outcomes identified herein, taking into account the patient perspective.