State of the eye health system in the Pacific: is medical technology available and used by mid-level eye care workers?

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to describe the availability, use and comfort with ophthalmic equipment and medications by mid-level eye care workers in Papua New Guinea and Pacific Island countries and territories as indicators of the state of eye care in the Pacific. METHODS: Health information system data, from a workforce support program to Pacific mid-level eye care workers, were analysed for availability and comfort with use of ophthalmic equipment and topical medications. RESULTS: For refraction equipment, access was excellent (98% for retinoscopes and trial lenses) 'very frequent use' range was 42-74% and 'high comfort of use' range was 54-86%. Equipment for ocular health assessment is widely available (slit lamps 67%), with high comfort levels (78-100% 'very comfortable'). Over 70% of respondents have access to topical diagnostic medications, 98% have access to at least one type of antibiotic drops and 63% have access to at least one topical corticosteroid. CONCLUSION: Overall, trained mid-level eye care workers in the Pacific seem well equipped for ocular health and refractive assessments. Comfort levels are encouraging, but also highlight areas for continuing professional development. Access to ophthalmic medications appears acceptable in the region for low morbidity anterior segment conditions.

The rationale for shifting from a voluntary clinical approach to a public health approach in addressing refractive errors.

Millions of people need eyeglasses and do not have them. Assuming that the average pair of eyeglasses has an effective life span of two to five years, an additional 60 to 150 million spectacles would be needed each year for the estimated 303 million individuals who currently need correction. Optometrists are engaged in a variety of capacities in an attempt to address the significant public health problem of uncorrected refractive error. One popular method used by many voluntary optometry-led organisations is to provide direct clinical services to individual patients in developing countries. Considerable manpower, materials, money and logistical resources are used in conducting these short-term missions, yet scarce evidence exists regarding their cost effectiveness or the efficacy and long-term impact of these interventions. The provision of direct clinical services by most foreign volunteers does not directly build local capacity and may hinder development of sustainable local services. Adopting public health approaches will enable volunteer provider organisations to dramatically increase their program effectiveness and output, while developing local capacities in a sustainable way. These approaches should include: 1. Following the national strategy for blindness prevention as determined by the Ministry of Health and forming partnerships with relevant local, national and international organisations. 2. Using need-based criteria to target programs more efficiently. 3. Developing sustainable services via local capacity building. 4. Monitoring, evaluating and using evidence to guide programs. By using these approaches, a larger contribution will be made by the volunteer organisations in addressing the unmet need for refractive correction.

An in-country model of workforce support for trained mid-level eye care workers in Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands.

To alleviate the significant burden of vision impairment and blindness in low-resource settings, addressing the shortage in human resources in eye care is one of the fundamental strategies. With its postgraduate training programmes, The Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand (FHFNZ) aims to increase workforce capacity in the Pacific Island countries and territories and Papua New Guinea. This paper presents an in-country model to offer support to graduates, an essential element to retain them in the workforce and ensure they are able to perform the tasks they were trained to do. FHFNZ has designed a workforce support programme employing a standardised process, allowing comparable reporting and providing data for FHFNZ to evaluate its training programmes, outputs as well as professional recognition and integration in the workplace.

Clinical outcomes following the dispensing of ready-made and recycled spectacles: a systematic literature review.

Uncorrected refractive error is the leading cause of global visual impairment. Given resource constraints in developing countries, the gold standard method of refractive error correction, custom-made spectacles, is unlikely to be available for some time. Therefore, ready-made and recycled spectacles are in wide use in the developing world. To ensure that refractive error interventions are successful, it is important that only appropriate modes of refractive error correction are used. As a basis for policy development, a systematic literature review was conducted of interventional studies analysing visual function, patient satisfaction and continued use outcomes of ready-made and recycled spectacles dispensed to individuals in developing countries with refractive errors or presbyopia. PubMed and CINAHL were searched by MESH terms and keywords related to ready-made and recycled spectacle interventions, yielding 185 non-duplicated papers. After applying exclusion criteria, eight papers describing seven studies of clinical outcomes of dispensing ready-made spectacles were retained for analysis. The two randomised controlled trials and five non-experimental studies suggest that ready-made spectacles can provide sufficient visual function for a large portion of the world's population with refractive error, including those with astigmatism and/or anisometropia. The follow-up period for many of the studies was too short to confidently comment on patient satisfaction and continued-use outcomes. No studies were found that met inclusion criteria and discussed recycled spectacles. The literature also notes concerns about quality and cost effectiveness of recycled spectacles, as well as their tendency to increase developing countries' reliance on outside sources of help. In light of the findings, the dispensing of ready-made spectacles should be favoured over the dispensing of recycled spectacles in developing countries.

Addressing refractive error visual impairment: volunteer organisations' alignment with Vision 2020 and public health principles.

BACKGROUND: Eye care professionals have been making short visits to developing countries for decades in an effort to reduce visual impairment caused by refractive error. A 2006 survey revealed that volunteer organisations were not working within the Vision 2020 framework. Recommendations were made for volunteer organisations that would better align their work with accepted Vision 2020 and public health principles. METHODS: This study re-evaluates the alignment of volunteer organisations with Vision 2020 and public health principles. To determine their philosophies and methods, a web-based survey was sent to 89 volunteer organisations identified from an internet search. RESULTS: The response rate was 48 per cent. Many (70.7 per cent) organisations exclusively mention direct service provision in their statement of purpose, often provided by student volunteers (75.6 per cent). A few (19.5 per cent) provide short training in refraction, not necessarily following best principles. The majority (82.1 per cent) dispenses recycled spectacles and many use medications not on national essential drug lists. Few attempt to follow aid effectiveness principles with only 26.8 per cent stating they follow Vision 2020 country plans. Overall, as in 2006, the work of these organisations is largely not in alignment with Vision 2020 and public health principles. CONCLUSION: Organisations interested in decreasing visual impairment due to refractive error in the developing world are encouraged to transition to organisations that not only recognise but also implement public health principles. This should include reprioritisation of their work to developing human resources and infrastructure, determining the burden and causes of disease, assisting in the training of mid-level personnel and providing professional and community education, collaborating via partnerships, discontinuing the use of recycled spectacles and inappropriate medications, and evaluating their outcomes. Following these recommendations as well as creating a better alignment with public health principles in general will increase the likelihood that their programs will be effective in decreasing visual impairment due to refractive error in the developing world.

Refractive error and presbyopia among adults in Fiji.

PURPOSE: To characterize refractive error, presbyopia and their correction among adults aged ≥ 40 years in Fiji, and contribute to a regional overview of these conditions. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional survey using multistage cluster random sampling. Presenting distance and near vision were measured and dilated slitlamp examination performed. RESULTS: The survey achieved 73.0% participation (n=1381). Presenting binocular distance vision ≥ 6/18 was achieved by 1223 participants. Another 79 had vision impaired by refractive error. Three of these were blind. At threshold 6/18, 204 participants had refractive error. Among these, 125 had spectacle-corrected presenting vision ≥ 6/18 ("met refractive error need"); 79 presented wearing no (n=74) or under-correcting (n=5) distance spectacles ("unmet refractive error need"). Presenting binocular near vision ≥ N8 was achieved by 833 participants. At threshold N8, 811 participants had presbyopia. Among these, 336 attained N8 with presenting near spectacles ("met presbyopia need"); 475 presented with no (n=402) or under-correcting (n=73) near spectacles ("unmet presbyopia need"). Rural residence was predictive of unmet refractive error (p=0.040) and presbyopia (p=0.016) need. Gender and household income source were not. Ethnicity-gender-age-domicile-adjusted to the Fiji population aged ≥ 40 years, "met refractive error need" was 10.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.7-11.9%), "unmet refractive error need" was 4.8% (95%CI 3.6-5.9%), "refractive error correction coverage" was 68.3% (95%CI 54.4-82.2%),"met presbyopia need" was 24.6% (95%CI 22.4-26.9%), "unmet presbyopia need" was 33.8% (95%CI 31.3-36.3%), and "presbyopia correction coverage" was 42.2% (95%CI 37.6-46.8%). CONCLUSION: Fiji refraction and dispensing services should encourage uptake by rural dwellers and promote presbyopia correction. Lack of comparable data from neighbouring countries prevents a regional overview.