Optometry Educators' Teaching Experiences and Opportunities Pre-, During, and Post-COVID-19 in South Africa.

Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the higher education sector worldwide, and South Africa has faced unique challenges that continue to influence teaching beyond the pandemic. Purpose: The study investigated the South African optometry educators' teaching experiences and opportunities pre-, during, and post-COVID-19. Methods: The proposed study design was explorative and quantitative. Convenience sampling was used in recruiting participants. Optometry educators from four (4) universities training optometrists in South Africa were invited to participate in the study. An anonymous online questionnaire designed by the researchers was sent to participants to ensure that it captured relevant data. The questionnaire was sent electronically to the participants and SPSS was used to analyze collected data. Results: Face-to-face (F2F) teaching was found to be the preferred method pre-COVID-19 by all participants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the F2F was not the teaching method of choice due to safety measures put in place by the government. Online learning (OL) was preferred by 80% (n=4), and blended methods by 100%, due to flexibility in terms of lecture time allocation and digital device infrastructure. A statistically significant satisfaction was indicated by the academics before and post-COVID-19 pandemic with p=0.04 and p=0.02 respectively. The dissatisfaction related to online and blended methods of teaching used during the COVID-19 pandemic could be attributed to a lack of preparedness and digital device infrastructure. Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic participants raised concerns related to the lack of personal interaction and challenges of self-discipline required for online learning including face-to-face lectures. Conclusion: Post the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains a need to address challenges related to the training of optometry educators in using online (OL) and blended methods (BM) of teaching, especially for those with more than 20 years of teaching experience. Whilst OL and BMs are beneficial, F2F teaching should not be neglected as it remains the cornerstone of effective education in optometry, especially in clinical training.

The association between road traffic accidents and visual functions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND:  Poor visual functions have been reported to be related to the occurrence of road traffic accidents. AIM:  To review the association between visual function and road traffic accidents (RTAs) from published relevant empirical studies. SETTING:  Worldwide. METHODS:  A random effects (RE) model meta-analysis was conducted using STATA 18. Statistical tests conducted include meta-summary statistics, RE meta-analysis (forest plot), meta-regression (relationship between mean age and effect sizes), funnel plots, Egger's and Begg's tests for publication bias and small study effects. RESULTS:  A total of 17 relevant studies, which were either cross-sectional or observational by design, were included in the meta-analysis. Reported effect sizes were within computed confidence intervals (CI) at 95%. The computed Q test of homogeneity was 61.94. The overall mean effect size of 1.43 (95% CI of 0.985-1.883) was statistically significant at a 5% level (Z = 6.26; p  0.001). The I-squared = 62.17% (p = 0.00) confirmed moderate heterogeneity and the Q-value of 61.94 (p = 0.00) rejected the null hypothesis that the effect size was the same in all the studies. The funnel plot showed that the remaining majority of 13 studies were within the funnel plot on the right-hand side of the line of no effect. CONCLUSION:  These results provide evidence of associations between visual functions and RTAs, and highlight the need for targeted interventions and further research to address the challenges associated with impaired visual functions and road safety.Contributions: The study contributes to the understanding of the implications of visual functions for road safety.

Demographic factors associated with myopia knowledge, attitude and preventive practices among adults in Ghana: a population-based cross-sectional survey.

PURPOSE: Knowledge, positive attitude and good preventive practices are keys to successful myopia control, but information on these is lacking in Africa. This study determined the KAP on myopia in Ghana. METHODS: This was a population-based cross-sectional survey conducted among adults (aged 18 years and older) living across 16 regions of Ghana between May and October 2021. Data on socio-demographic factors (sex, age, gender, level of education, working status, type of employment, monthly income, and region of residence), respondents' awareness, and knowledge, attitude and preventive practices (KAP) about myopia were collected. Composite and mean scores were calculated from eleven knowledge (total score = 61), eight attitude (48), and nine preventive practice items (33). Differences in mean scores were assessed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and standardized coefficients (ß) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), using multiple linear regression to determine the associations between the dependent (KAP) and demographic variables. RESULTS: Of the 1,919 participants, mean age was 37.4 ± 13.4 years, 42.3% were aged 18-30 years, 52.6% were men, 55.8% had completed tertiary education, and 49.2% had either heard about myopia, or accurately defined myopia as short sightedness. The mean KAP scores were 22.9 ± 23.7, 33.9 ± 5.4, and 22.3 ± 2.8, respectively and varied significantly with many of the demographic variables particularly with age group, region, marital status, and type of employment. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed significant associations between region of residence and knowledge (ß =-0.54, 95%CI:-0.87, -0.23, p < 0.001), attitude (ß =-0.24, 95%CI:-0.35,-0.14, p < 0.001) and preventive practices (ß = 0.07, 95%CI: 0.01, 0.12, p = 0.015). Preventive practices were also associated with type of employment (self-employed vs employee: ß = 0.25, 95%CI: 0.15, 4.91, p < 0.05). Knowledge scores were significantly higher in those who lived in the Greater Accra (39.5 ± 18.5) and Eastern regions (39.1 ± 17.5) and lower among those who lived in the Upper West region (6.4 ± 15.6). Government employees and those with tertiary education had significantly higher mean knowledge scores compared with non-government employees (ß = 4.56, 95%CI 1.22, 7.89, p = 0.007), and those with primary/no education (ß = 18.35, 95%CI: 14.42, 22.27, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Ghanaian participants had adequate knowledge of myopia but showed poor attitude and low preventive practices, which varied significantly between regions and were modified by socio-demographic factors. Further research into how education can be used to stimulate Ghanaians' engagement in preventive practices is needed.

Toward Universal Eye Health Coverage-Key Outcomes of the World Health Organization Package of Eye Care Interventions: A Systematic Review.

Importance: Despite persistent inequalities in access to eye care services globally, guidance on a set of recommended, evidence-based eye care interventions to support country health care planning has not been available. To overcome this barrier, the World Health Organization (WHO) Package of Eye Care Interventions (PECI) has been developed. Objective: To describe the key outcomes of the PECI development. Evidence Review: A standardized stepwise approach that included the following stages: (1) selection of priority eye conditions by an expert panel after reviewing epidemiological evidence and health facility data; (2) identification of interventions and related evidence for the selected eye conditions from a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs); stage 2 included a systematic literature search, screening of title and abstracts (excluding articles that were not relevant CPGs), full-text review to assess disclosure of conflicts of interest and affiliations, quality appraisal, and data extraction; (3) expert review of the evidence extracted in stage 2, identification of missed interventions, and agreement on the inclusion of essential interventions suitable for implementation in low- and middle-income resource settings; and (4) peer review. Findings: Fifteen priority eye conditions were chosen. The literature search identified 3601 articles. Of these, 469 passed title and abstract screening, 151 passed full-text screening, 98 passed quality appraisal, and 87 were selected for data extraction. Little evidence (≤1 CPG identified) was available for pterygium, keratoconus, congenital eyelid disorders, vision rehabilitation, myopic macular degeneration, ptosis, entropion, and ectropion. In stage 3, domain-specific expert groups voted to include 135 interventions (57%) of a potential 235 interventions collated from stage 2. After synthesis across all interventions and eye conditions, 64 interventions (13 health promotion and education, 6 screening and prevention, 38 treatment, and 7 rehabilitation) were included in the PECI. Conclusions and Relevance: This systematic review of CPGs for priority eye conditions, followed by an expert consensus procedure, identified 64 essential, evidence-based, eye care interventions that are required to achieve universal eye health coverage. The review identified some important gaps, including a paucity of high-quality, English-language CPGs, for several eye diseases and a dearth of evidence-based recommendations on eye health promotion and prevention within existing CPGs.

Strengthening the integration of eye care into the health system: methodology for the development of the WHO package of eye care interventions.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the rational for, and the methods that will be employed to develop, the WHO package of eye care interventions (PECI). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The development of the package will be conducted in four steps: (1) selection of eye conditions (for which interventions will be included in the package) based on epidemiological data on the causes of vision impairment and blindness, prevalence estimates of eye conditions and health facility data; (2) identification of interventions and related evidence for the selected eye conditions from clinical practice guidelines and high-quality systematic reviews by a technical working group; (3) expert agreement on the inclusion of eye care interventions in the package and the description of resources required for the provision of the selected interventions; and (4) peer review. The project will be led by the WHO Vision Programme in collaboration with Cochrane Eyes and Vision. A Technical Advisory Group, comprised of public health and clinical experts in the field, will provide technical input throughout all stages of development. RESULTS: After considering the feedback of Technical Advisory Group members and reviewing-related evidence, a final list of eye conditions for which interventions will be included in the package has been collated. CONCLUSION: The PECI will support Ministries of Health in prioritising, planning, budgeting and integrating eye care interventions into health systems. It is anticipated that the PECI will be available for use in 2021.