Influencing Factors of Delayed Healthcare-seeking and Visiting Time in Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy

Background Diabetic retinopathy (DR) may cause vision loss, visual field defects, vitreous hemorrhage, and even blindness. However, there are few reports about delayed healthcare-seeking in patients with DR. Objective To analyze the influencing factors of delayed healthcare-seeking and visiting time in DR patients. Methods DR patients were recruited from Tianjin Eye Hospital from January to May 2018, to attend an anonymous questionnaire survey for understanding their healthcare-seeking status, and delay in healthcare-seeking (taking visiting time over 5 years as delayed healthcare-seeking) . Influencing factors of delayed healthcare-seeking were explored using multinomial ordinal Logistic regression analysis with the stepwise method. Results The survey achieved a response rate of 94.5% (120/127) . Among the 120 respondents, the visiting time was less than 1 year in 9 cases, 1 to 2 years in 11 cases, 3 to 5 years in 17 cases, and over 5 years in 83 cases; the prevalence of delayed healthcare-seeking was 69.1%