Document Type : original article
Authors
- Razieh Farrahi 1
- Nasser Shoeibi 2
- Maryam Edalati khodabandeh 3
- Nasibe Zare Shahneh 4
- Hamid Reza Heidarzadeh 2
1 Department of Health Information Technology, Ferdows Faculty of Medical Sciences, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
2 Eye Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3 Department of Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
4 Eye research center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a major cause of preventable vision impairment in newborns, especially in developing countries. It can lead to serious disorders such as retinal detachment, cataracts, glaucoma, and refractive errors. Thus, screening and monitoring infants with ROP is essential. We performed this study to evaluate the impact of short message reminders on the attendance of infants with ROP at a tertiary referral center.
Methods: An observational case-control study was conducted at the ROP clinic in Khatam-Al-Anbia Hospital. The study spanned from September 2019 to March 2021 and included a cohort of patients with follow-up appointments from the ROP electronic record. Each group consisted of 600 patients. To measure the attitudes of parents who received short message service (SMS) reminders for upcoming appointments, researchers employed a questionnaire they designed.
Results: In the control group, the non-attendance rate was 31%, while the intervention group that received SMS reminders had a slightly lower rate at 28.5%. However, receiving SMS reminders did not significantly increase patient attendance at scheduled appointments (p=0.344). On the other hand, the chi-square test showed that attendance was significantly linked to the father's education level (p=0.009), disease stages (p=0.001), and place of residence (p=0.023). Additionally, according to the logistic regression analysis, SMS reminders did not significantly improve patient attendance (Exp(B)=1.08, p=0.55).
Conclusion: Infant attendance at scheduled appointments was influenced by the father's social status, the patient's disease stage, and place of residence. However, implementing a reminder SMS did not significantly impact attendance rates statistically.
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