Survey shows new Eye Connect service benefiting AMD community 

MDFA has received a positive response from the people participating in our new Eye Connect support service.

Launched earlier this year, Eye Connect offers people living with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) free access to evidence-based health information, practical advice and emotional support in between appointments with their eye health professional.

MDFA recently conducted a survey with the first 150 Eye Connect participants, which revealed:

• 98% of respondents would recommend the service to their family or friends
• 75% of respondents reported that the service positively impacted their general wellbeing
• The diagnosis of most people accessing the service was neovascular AMD (56%); followed by geographic atrophy (26%). Early AMD represented 13%, and 5% reported having intermediate AMD.
• The service users were predominantly women (81%) and were aged 70 years or more (82%), with the largest proportion aged 85 years and over.

I’ve been living with age-related macular degeneration for 26 years. Eye Connect has been so helpful; it makes me feel like I have it under control and it’s going to be okay.

Josephine, an Eye Connect participant.

Dr Kathy Chapman, CEO of Macular Disease Foundation Australia, said the early response to Eye Connect – which is the first comprehensive service of its kind in Australia – is very encouraging.

“We developed Eye Connect because we knew that people living with macular disease would benefit from access to evidence-based information and support in between visits to a clinical setting,” said Dr Chapman.

“Our evaluation indicates that people are finding the service useful, and it has also highlighted ways in which we can further improve and tailor Eye Connect to meet participants’ needs.

“We are accepting more referrals to Eye Connect, so I encourage eye health professionals to refer their patients to the service or contact MDFA if they have any questions. We’re here to support.”

Eye health professionals can click here to refer a patient. You can also refer via Oculo or encourage your patient to call MDFA on 1800 111 709. Patients can self-refer via MDFA’s website or over the phone.

If you are living with AMD and are interested in joining Eye Connect, or want to find our more about the service, please complete the contact form here or call us on 1800 111 709. Eye Connect will be expanded to support other macular conditions in the future. MDFA will also be tracking how the service can assist people to persist with their anti-VEGF treatment.