Beyond Pathology- Exploring Salutogenesis as a Novel Approach to Eye Inflammatory Disease Prevention and Management: A Perspective.

The aim of this perspective is to promote the theory of salutogenesis as a novel approach to addressing ophthalmologic inflammatory conditions, illustrating several concepts in which it is based upon and how they can be applied to medical practice. This theory can better contextualize why patients with similar demographics and exposures are not uniform in their clinical presentations. Stressors in daily life can contribute to a state of ill-health and there are various factors that help alleviate their negative impact. These alleviating factors are significantly impaired in people with poor vision, one of the most common presentations of ophthalmologic conditions. Salutogenic principles can guide the treatment of eye conditions to be more respectful of patient autonomy amidst shifting expectations of the doctor-patient relationship. Being able to take ownership of their health and feeling that their cultural beliefs were considered improves compliance and subsequently gives more optimal outcomes. Population-level policy interventions could also utilize salutogenic principles to identify previously overlooked domains that can be addressed. We identified several papers about salutogenesis in an ophthalmological context and acknowledged the relatively few studies on this topic at present and offer directions in which we can explore further in subsequent studies.

Update on coronavirus disease 2019: Ophthalmic Manifestations and Adverse Reactions to Vaccination.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was one of the most devastating public health issues in recent decades. The ophthalmology community is as concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic as the global public health community is, as COVID-19 was recognized to affect multiple organs in the human body, including the eyes, early in the course of the outbreak. Ophthalmic manifestations of COVID-19 are highly variable and could range from mild ocular surface abnormalities to potentially sight and life-threatening orbital and neuro-ophthalmic diseases. Furthermore, ophthalmic manifestations may also be the presenting or the only findings in COVID-19 infections. Meanwhile, global vaccination campaigns to attain herd immunity in different populations are the major strategy to mitigate the pandemic. As novel vaccinations against COVID-19 emerged, so were reports on adverse ophthalmic reactions potentially related to such. As the world enters a post-pandemic state where COVID-19 continues to exist and evolve as an endemic globally, the ophthalmology community ought to be aware of and keep abreast of the latest knowledge of ophthalmic associations with COVID-19 and its vaccinations. This review is a summary of the latest literature on the ophthalmic manifestations of COVID-19 and the adverse ophthalmic reactions related to its vaccinations.

Pursuit Of An Ideal Model For Community Eye Health - Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

Visual impairment is a crippling condition affecting quality of life and depriving patients of many opportunities. It is associated with increased mortality rates directly through occurrence of adverse events such as falls and impaired emotional well-being, and indirectly through visual impairment brought upon by systemic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension (Foong et al. 2008, Fong et al. 2014, Khanna et al. 2013, Song et al.2014, Wang et al. 1999). The number of patients suffering from reversible causes of blindness is substantial. In 2010, World Health Organisation estimates that 285 million (4.25%) of the world's population is visually impaired, of which 39 million (14%) are blind. Approximately, 80% of the visual impairment is preventable. Notable causes of preventable blindness include cataracts (51%), glaucoma (8%), age-related macular degeneration (5%), corneal opacities (4%), trachoma (3%) and uncorrected refractive errors (3%) (WHO, 2015). These conditions can be easily diagnosed and treated by ophthalmologists if adequate resources are available. It is increasingly challenging for the ophthalmologists and current healthcare systems to meet the ever-expanding demands of patients with reversible causes of blindness.