Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Diana Naser

Abstract

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States in people who are 50 and older. The safety and efficacy of aflibercept for the treatment of late stage neovascular AMD (NAMD) has been demonstrated by clinical trials among several populations; however, it is unclear whether all NAMD patients respond in the same manner as was studied in the clinical trials. The purpose of this study was to examine if populations of patients treated with aflibercept for the treatment of NAMD were significantly different from one another in terms of health characteristics, treatment regimens, and treatment outcomes. The burden of treatment theory was used to guide this study. Data collected from electronic medical records were used to investigate NAMD characteristics 199 patients from 3 private, retinal practices in the United States. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, 2, Spearman's correlation, and point-biserial correlation tests. The results of this study showed the specific retinal practice populations of NAMD patients treated with aflibercept were generally similar with respect to selected health characteristics, treatment regimens, and treatment outcomes. By using the information reported from this research, public health initiatives can be developed that focus on the need for early detection of AMD to capture changes that represent NAMD and move to early treatment for better outcomes. The positive social change that could result from this research is that retinal specialists may gain insight into the use and outcomes of aflibercept treatment.

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