Evaluation of a Novel Intervention for Individuals at High Risk for Blindness from Diabetic Retinopathy: the SEEN Program Pilot

In a single-arm pilot of the SEEN program for 35 high-quartile–risk adults with diabetes in the Northeastern US, 42.9% completed a follow-up eye exam over 12 months.

• Why it matters: Engaging people at highest risk for diabetic retinopathy is challenging, and the study addresses the need to test whether a navigation-based model is feasible and acceptable in real-world eye care.
• What they did: Adults with diabetes and no eye exam in the prior year received comprehensive eye examination, DR education, and one year of social needs navigation; feasibility and acceptability were assessed with surveys, EHR data, and interviews.
• The result: Among completers, HbA1c fell from 9.8 to 8.5 (p=0.03), and interviews identified themes supporting feasibility and acceptability, with only 6.5% of social needs remaining unresolved or unmet.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.