Abstract
Background: Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a complication of uncontrolled Diabetic mellitus (DM). It affects the vision-related quality of life significantly, and it is one of the leading causes of blindness. Various socio-cultural elements affect eye health-seeking behavior and barriers to access DR screening services (DRSS) by people with DM (PwDM). However, studies assessing barriers to DR screening among people with diabetes in Saudi Arabia are limited. The principal aim of this study was to evaluate the barriers to DR screening among Saudi diabetics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, survey-based study conducted in Taif, Saudi Arabia, from October 2020 to September 2021. Data was collected using a predesigned self-administered online questionnaire. Then data were analyzed by the SPSS program, version 25 at a level of significance of 0.05. Results: A total of 1042 adults with diabetes were enrolled in the study. About 39% of them had diabetes duration of fewer than five years. Around 3.8% of the participants agreed that poor glycemic control enhances diabetic retinopathy progression, 18.9% agreed that diabetic individuals might have advanced diabetic retinopathy despite having good vision, 7.5% agreed that comorbidities enhance diabetic retinopathy progression and 3.9% agreed that DR can be detected early might save vision. Conclusion: Finally, the study found that patients had an appropriate degree of awareness on DR; however, several knowledge areas should be improved. Furthermore, our findings demonstrated that COVID-19 caused a delay in patient care, resulting in poorer outcomes in patients with DR.