Access to primary eye care for people living with dementia: a call to action for primary care practitioners to ‘think vision’

Marianne Piano; Bao Nguyen; Flora Hui; Constance Dimity Pond

doi:10.1071/PY23200

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Access to primary eye care for people living with dementia: a call to action for primary care practitioners to ‘think vision’

Marianne Piano

^A ^B ^* , Bao Nguyen

^A ^C , Flora Hui

^A ^D ^E and Constance Dimity Pond

^F ^G ^H

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

^B National Vision Research Institute, Australian College of Optometry, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

^C Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

^D Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

^E Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

^F Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., Australia.

^G School of Rural Medicine, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.

^H School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Penrith South, NSW, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: marianne.coleman@unimelb.edu.au

Australian Journal of Primary Health 30, PY23200 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY23200

Submitted: 31 October 2023 Accepted: 7 February 2024 Published: 1 March 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Access to allied health services offers significant benefits for people living with dementia, yet access is currently fragmented and inconsistent. The 2023–2024 budget allocated AU$445 million to further enable general practice-led, multidisciplinary teams, with integrated care located within practices, including employment of allied health professionals. Such team care models are recognised by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners as vital to delivery of high-quality care for older adults. They are especially relevant for over 250,000 Australians who live with dementia in the community. However, not all allied health professionals are currently based within general practices. Future, sustainable general practice-led models of multidisciplinary care that connect patients with external allied health providers could be considered for a comprehensive and collaborative approach to care. Our focus is on people living with dementia, who are at greater risk of preventable vision impairment. Poor vision and/or ocular health can be detected and managed through regular eye examinations, which are predominantly delivered by community-based optometrists in Australia, in a primary care capacity. However, people living with dementia are also less likely to have regular eye examinations. In this paper, we highlight the value of ensuring access to primary eye care services as part of post-diagnosis dementia care. We illustrate the important role of primary care practitioners in building and sustaining connections with allied health professions, like optometry, through effective referral and interprofessional communication systems. This can help break down access barriers to dementia-friendly eye care, through promoting the importance of regular eye tests for people living with dementia.

Keywords: allied health occupations, dementia care, eye health, health services: accessibility, health services: aged, optometry, preventive care, primary health care, post-diagnosis support.

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