Background/aims Concerns have been expressed about the relationship between reduced levels of health care utilisation and the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to elicit and explore the views of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and their ophthalmic care. Methods Between April 29th and September 4th 2020, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with thirty-five patients with nAMD taking part in a larger diagnostic accuracy study of home-monitoring tests. Participants were recruited using maximum variation sampling to capture a range of key characteristics including age, gender and time since initial treatment. Transcribed interview data were analysed using a deductive and inductive thematic approach. Results Three themes emerged from the analysis: i. access to eye clinic care. ii. COVID-19 mitigating factors and care delivery and iii. social and personal circumstances. Participants reported anxieties about cancelled or delayed appointments, limited communication from clinic-based services about appointments, and the impact of this on their ongoing care. Despite these concerns, there was apprehension about attending appointments due to infection risk and a perception that nAMD patients are a high risk group. Views of those who attended clinics during the study period were, however, positive, with social distancing and infection control measures providing reassurance. Conclusions These findings contribute to our understanding about experiences of patients with nAMD during the COVID-19 pandemic and have potential implications for future planning of care services. Innovative approaches may be required to address issues related to access to care, including concerns about delayed or cancelled appointments.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行和眼科护理：对新生血管性年龄相关性黄斑变性 (nAMD) 患者的定性研究

背景/目的 人们对医疗保健利用水平降低与 COVID-19 大流行之间的关系表示担忧。本研究旨在征求和探讨新生血管性年龄相关性黄斑变性 (nAMD) 患者对 COVID-19 大流行及其眼科护理的看法。方法 在 2020 年 4 月 29 日至 9 月 4 日期间，对 35 名 nAMD 患者进行了半结构化电话访谈，这些患者参加了一项更大的家庭监测测试诊断准确性研究。使用最大变异抽样来招募参与者，以捕捉一系列关键特征，包括年龄、性别和自初始治疗以来的时间。使用演绎和归纳主题方法分析转录的访谈数据。结果 分析中出现了三个主题： i．获得眼科诊所护理。ii. COVID-19 缓解因素和护理提供以及 iii. 社会和个人情况。参与者报告了对取消或延迟预约的焦虑，基于诊所的服务对预约的沟通有限，以及这对他们正在进行的护理的影响。尽管存在这些担忧，但由于感染风险和认为 nAMD 患者是高危人群的看法，人们仍对参加预约感到担忧。然而，在研究期间参加诊所的人的看法是积极的，社会疏远和感染控制措施提供了保证。结论这些发现有助于我们了解 COVID-19 大流行期间 nAMD 患者的经历，并对未来的护理服务规划具有潜在影响。