Avaliação de uma tecnologia educativa na promoção da saúde ocular de pessoas portadoras de HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Among the complications caused by infection by the immunodeficiency virus, those which compromise the visual system, that sometimes occur unexpectedly and can cause blindness, are highlighted. This study evaluated the efficacy of an educational technology aiming at the promotion of the eye health of people with HIV/AIDS. This evaluation research was carried out at the outpatient clinic in a referral hospital for treatment of infectious diseases, with 130 patients with HIV/AIDS, between May and August 2010. Data were collected through interview and observation, using three forms which approached, respectively, the socioeconomic profile, understanding of the booklet and accomplishment of self-examination. Predictive Analytics Software (PASW), version 18.0, was used. The association analyses were carried out using the X2 test and the likelihood ratio. Student’s t test was used to compare the averages and, when statistically significant, multiple comparisons were performed with Tukey test. All analysis were considered statistically significant when p<0.05. Of the 130 interviewed participants, 100 (23.1%) were male, 98 (75.4%) single and 76 (58.5%) had completed secondary education. Most, 95 (73.1%), had formal or informal jobs, 59 (45.4%) had incomes up to one minimum wage, with average of R$928.54 (SD= ±R$919.38). The age of the analyzed group varied from 19 to 56 years, with average of 35 ± 8 years. As for the time of diagnosis, 36 (27.7%) had between two and five years, which was the same time of treatment carried out by 51 (39.2%) participants. Concerning the evaluation of the understanding of the text – the adequacy of the booklet regarding the drawings and the difficulty during the use of the referred material, it was observed that most participants evaluated the booklet positively, although there was lack of concordance in relation to some aspects. Participants reported that the language should be simpler and that some of the names used were technical terms, limiting the understanding. Among the examinations carried out, there were lower scores for verification of distant visual acuity, in which 68.4% of the participants presented poor or totally poor conduct. They were related to the non accomplishment of some guidelines, such as hand washing before the start of the evaluation, setting of the optometric scale below and above the height of the eyes and the lack of registering of the findings at the end of each stage. On the other hand, the best performance of the group was observed in the evaluation of the eye movement (45.4%) and of the peripheral vision (38.5%), the latter having its steps executed completely correct. Comparing the results of the eye evaluation found by the group and by the researchers, the only item with significant difference was the one regarding the eyelid examination (p=0.036). It is concluded, therefore, that the booklet for self-examination is efficient, although it still needs to go through some changes for adequacy, both in the writing and in the drawings, as to make its use easier.