Disparities Between People with Diabetic Retinopathy and Community Health Service Centers’ Staff in Estimating Satisfaction with Telescreening for Diabetic Eye Diseases

Background: The success of the telescreening and management for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in the communities depends on the satisfaction of the people with diabetes, and the community health service centers (CHSCs)’ staff, referred to as providers. To investigate the satisfaction of people with DR and CHSCs’ staff, with the comprehensive management system for diabetic eye diseases (abbreviated as “the System” in the following text). Methods This cross-sectional survey for those receiving the service, included 3817 people with vision-threatening DR (VTDR), focused on the satisfaction with the System, including telescreening process, speed of feedback, interpretation of results, awareness of the related diseases, and eye care service. The survey for the providers, included 234 CHSCs’ staff focused on satisfaction and main barriers encountered during the implementation of the System. Sociodemographic characteristics and perceived barriers related to satisfaction were identified by conducting univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results The overall satisfaction of those receiving the service was 96.0%, and 75.8% of them were willing to undergo telescreening for DR the following year. The convenience of telescreening, reasonable and orderly telescreening, and improvement in the related disease awareness significantly correlated with satisfaction. Only 48.3% of the providers were satisfied with the System. The three most mentioned barriers to the development of the System were insufficient technical staff, inadequate funds, and incomplete information transmission system. Conclusions Disparities between the high satisfaction of those receiving the service and the low satisfaction of the providers with the System were mainly related to the current weak ophthalmic medical level in the CHSCs and the low awareness of screening for diabetic eye diseases among not only people with DR but the CHSCs’ staff.