Ocular health of children wearing daily disposable contact lenses over a 6-year period.

PURPOSE: To report on the ocular health and safety of children fit with soft hydrogel daily-disposable contact lenses, and followed for 6-years in a double-masked clinical trial investigating the performance of a dual-focus contact lens designed to control myopia progression. METHODS: Children aged 8-12 years, naïve to contact lens wear, were enrolled across four international sites. During years 1-3, children were randomised to either MiSight® 1 day or Proclear® 1 day (both omafilcon A, CooperVision, Inc.). The lenses were identical in material and geometry except for the front optical zone design. At the end of year-3, all those wearing Proclear 1 day were switched to MiSight 1 day, therefore all wore MiSight 1 day in years 4-6. Subjects agreed to wear the lenses at least 10-hours/day, 6-days/week. After dispensing, study visits were at 1-week, 1-month, 6-months and every 6-months until 6-years. At each visit, ocular measurements and subjective responses were recorded. Biomicroscopy used 0-4 grading scales; grade 0 represented no findings. RESULTS: 144 children were enrolled: 69F:75M; mean age 10.1 years; mean cycloplegic spherical-equivalent refraction -2.11D; ethnicities included 34 East-Asian, 12 West-Asian, and 79 Caucasian. 92 completed the 6-years. Only three subjects discontinued due to an ocular adverse event (AE). No contact lens related AEs were classified as serious. The incidence rate of infiltrative AEs was 0.61% (6.1/1000 wearing-years; 95%CI: 0.24%-1.57%). The most common biomicroscopy findings were limbal, bulbar and tarsal hyperaemia and tarsal roughness. 99% of all biomicroscopy findings were grade-1 or lower. After 6-years of lens wear, ocular health by biomicroscopy was similar to pre-lens wear. CONCLUSIONS: Across the 6-years, there were no contact lens related serious AEs and biomicroscopy showed no significant changes. Results suggest that children this age can successfully wear daily-disposable hydrogel contact lenses with minimal impact on ocular physiology.

Evaluation of REACH-TX: A Community-Based Approach to the REACH II Intervention.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Family caregiving interventions have been proven efficacious at reducing dementia caregiver's stress and burden, yet translation of evidence-based interventions into community-based support service programs requires modification to the original intervention protocol. In collaboration with community partners, the REACH-TX program was developed based on the REACH II (Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health) intervention. REACH-TX maintains the integrity of the multicomponent skill-based REACH II intervention but requires significantly fewer therapeutic contacts between the family caregiver and the dementia care specialist. This study presents an evaluation of REACH-TX implemented by the Alzheimer's Association North Central Texas Chapter. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: REACH-TX was provided to 1,522 caregivers between November 2011 and December 2017. The number of therapeutic contacts scheduled for caregivers was determined by the Risk Appraisal Measure (RAM) and ranged from 1 to 23. The rate of follow-up data on outcome measures collected was 59.0% (n = 898). All five domains of the REACH II quality-of-life measure (burden, depression, social support, self-care, and problem behaviors) were assessed at baseline and at 6 months. Caregivers (n = 53) participating in the program more than once allowed us to investigate the long-term impact of the first exposure to REACH-TX and the value of repeating the program. Generalized linear models were used to assess changes in quality of life after adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: Caregivers who completed the program showed significant improvements from baseline to 6 months on all five domains of quality of life, as evidenced by the follow-up data. Furthermore, caregivers who enrolled a second time in REACH-TX showed significant improvement in burden and social support scores. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This evaluation of REACH-TX suggests that REACH II evidence-based intervention can be translated into a valuable and sustainable community-based service for family caregivers. Additional translational research is needed to overcome the challenges of conducting standardized outcome assessments of caregiving services.

Erratum to: Evaluation of REACH-TX: A Community-Based Approach to the REACH II Intervention.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igz022.].

Predisposing factors for solution-induced corneal staining.

PURPOSE: To evaluate predisposing factors in subjects susceptible to solution-induced corneal staining (SICS). METHODS: Four hundred forty-six existing soft contact lens wearers were randomly fitted with one of two study lenses (lotrafilcon B, CIBA Vision, or omafilcon A, CooperVision) and used a hydrogen peroxide care system (Clear Care, CIBAVision) for a 1-month period. Each subject was then challenged with the same lenses presoaked in a multipurpose solution (ReNu MultiPlus, Bausch & Lomb) and assessed after approximately 2 h to be categorized as either "stainers" or "non-stainers" based on whether they showed a classic SICS pattern (diffuse punctate corneal staining in three or more peripheral quadrants). RESULTS: Overall, 36% (155 of 425) of eligible subjects were classified as stainers and included a higher proportion of omafilcon wearers: 44% (91 of 205) vs. 29% (64 of 220). After using the peroxide system, the stainers were more likely to show poorer wetting (odds ratio [OR] = 1.76, p = 0.02) compared with the non-stainers. Lens wetting showed a significant negative correlation with film deposits (r = -0.63, p < 0.0001, n = 425). Furthermore, on slit lamp examination, the stainers were more likely to show higher levels of upper- and lower-palpebral hyperemia (OR = 2.18, p = 0.02; OR = 1.93, p = 0.04), tarsal roughness (OR = 1.71, p = 0.01), corneal staining (OR = 17.1, p < 0.0001), and conjunctival staining (OR = 1.94, p = 0.004). Although not exposed to preservatives, twice as many eyes in the stainers group had some level of corneal staining: 51% vs. 25%. There were no significant differences between the stainers and non-stainers with respect to age, sex, refraction, or keratometry (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlighted some notable trends in patients susceptible to SICS. The findings point toward poor tear quality as a predisposing factor for SICS.

The Criminalization of Immigration: Value Conflicts for the Social Work Profession.

This article examines the impact of the criminalization of immigration on non-documented immigrants and the profession of social work. To meet its aims, the article explores the new realities for undocumented immigrants within the context of globalization. It then assesses the criminal justice and homeland security responses to undocumented immigrants, also referred to as the criminalization of immigration. It subsequently explores the ethical dilemmas and value discrepancies for social workers that are implicated in some of these responses. Finally, it presents implications for social workers and the social work profession.