Volume XXVI, No. 3, July-September 2001 77 I NSIGHT The Journal of the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses, Inc. O O ne million Americans have been diag- nosed with glaucoma, another million are at risk for vision loss because they are unaware of the disease, and 80,000 Americans are blind from glaucoma. 1 Primary open-angle glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among blacks, occurring 6 to 8 times more often than in whites. Studies show that blacks between ages 45 and 65 years are 14 to 17 times more likely to go blind from glaucoma than are whites with glaucoma in the same age group. 1 Education about glaucoma is essential to ensure an understanding among consumers about risk factors and the need for eye examinations at appropriate intervals. Because patients with glaucoma may have no symptoms at first, community awareness of this disease and the need for screening people at risk may promote timely diagnosis and treatment. An informed public is more likely to present earlier before irreversible visual loss has occurred. Glau- coma is a growing public health concern; therefore, efforts need to focus on consumer education about the disease and the need for early diagnosis. Gasch et al 2 evaluated patients’ glaucoma awareness. A questionnaire was administered to 1197 eye clinic patients and their companions. Glaucoma awareness in this popula- tion was high, but Hispanics, blacks, and persons with less than a college education were more likely to be unfamiliar with the disease. Self-report of having glaucoma was not a determinant of glaucoma awareness.The findings supported the need for more public education about glaucoma. Kim et al 3 examined the effects of a brief educational pro- gram on patients’ knowledge of glaucoma. Subjects receiving care at glaucoma clinics were randomly assigned to 2 groups: “exposed” (n = 34) and “unexposed” (n = 38).The exposed group underwent a simple educational program of a video- Filling the waiting time in the clinic with education about glaucoma Marilyn H. Oermann, PhD, RN, FAAN Cindy A. Needham, BSN, RN May T. Dobal, PhD, RN Lisa Sinishtaj, BSN, RN Mary Patricia Lange, RN, PhD The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an educational intervention, designed to occupy the waiting time in an eye clinic, on learning about glaucoma and patient satisfaction. Subjects (N = 100) waiting in the eye clinic were randomly assigned to 2 groups: (1) educational intervention and (2) usual clinic care (no structured educa- tion during the waiting time in the clinic). Patients who were taught in the clinic had sig- nificant gains in knowledge about glaucoma from pretest to posttest and were more sat- isfied with the education received during the visit. (Insight 2001;26:77-80.) Marilyn H. Oermann, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a professor in the College of Nursing at Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich. Cindy A. Needham, BSN, RN, is a registered nurse at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich, and a graduate student in the College of Nursing at Wayne State University. May T. Dobal, PhD, RN, is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich. Lisa Sinishtaj, BSN, RN, is a cardiology nurse clinician—outcomes manage- ment at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich, and a graduate student in the College of Nursing at Wayne State University. Mary Patricia Lange, RN, PhD, is associate chief, Nursing Section/Research and Education, at the John D. Dingell Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Detroit, Mich, and adjunct associate professor of nursing, Wayne State University. Reprint requests: Marilyn H. Oermann, 168 North Cranbrook Cross, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301-2508. 72/1/118673 doi:10.1067/min.2001.118673