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Predicting adherence to eye patching in children with amblyopia: an application of protection motivation theory
Paul Norman1, Aidan Searle, Richard Harrad
1Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK. p.norman@sheffield.ac.uk
Insights
Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) effectively predicts parental adherence to eye patching for children with amblyopia. Past behavior also directly influences future adherence, offering insights for improving treatment compliance.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Health Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Amblyopia, or "lazy eye," requires consistent treatment, often eye patching, for effective management in children.
- Parental adherence to prescribed treatments is crucial for successful amblyopia therapy but can be challenging.
- Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) offers a framework to understand and potentially improve health-related behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To apply PMT to predict parental adherence to eye patching recommendations for children with amblyopia.
- To examine the influence of past adherence behavior on future compliance within the PMT framework.
Main Methods:
- 151 parents of children with amblyopia completed PMT-based questionnaires assessing beliefs about amblyopia and patching.
- Adherence was measured at a 2-month follow-up for 105 of these parents.
- Regression analyses were used to identify predictors of adherence intentions and behavior.
Main Results:
- PMT significantly predicted adherence intentions and behavior at 2-month follow-up.
- Perceived vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy predicted protection motivation.
- Perceived vulnerability and response costs predicted adherence behavior, with past behavior also showing a direct effect.
Conclusions:
- PMT serves as a valuable model for understanding parental adherence to amblyopia treatment.
- Interventions targeting perceived vulnerability, efficacy, and costs, alongside reinforcing past successes, may enhance eye patching adherence.
Objectives:
This study reports an application of protection motivation theory (PMT) to the prediction of parental adherence to eye patching recommendations for children with amblyopia over a 2-month period. The study also considered the role of past behaviour in PMT.
Design And Methods:
A total of 151 parents of children with amblyopia who were attending follow-up appointments for orthoptic treatment participated. They completed questionnaires based on PMT to assess their beliefs about amblyopia and eye patching. Of the parents, 105 were contacted again at 2-month follow-up to obtain a measure of adherence to the recommended treatment for their child.
Results:
PMT was found to be predictive of adherence intentions and behaviour at 2-month follow-up. Regression analyses revealed perceived vulnerability, response efficacy and self-efficacy to be significant predictors of protection motivation, whereas perceived vulnerability and response costs were significant predictors of adherence behaviour. Past adherence behaviour was found to have a direct effect on future adherence behaviour over and above the influence of PMT.
Conclusions:
The results are discussed in relation to the sufficiency of PMTas a model of adherence behaviour. The practical implications for attempts to increase adherence to eye patching among children with amblyopia are outlined.