Eye health is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals; vision needs to be reframed as a development issue There is extensive evidence showing that improving eye health contributes directly and indirectly to achieving many Sustainable Development Goals, including reducing poverty and improving work productivity, general and mental health, and education and equity. Improving eye health is a practical and cost-effective way of unlocking human potential. Eye health needs to be reframed as an enabling, cross-cutting issue within the sustainable development framework. Almost everyone will experience impaired vision or an eye condition during their lifetime and require eye care services; urgent action is necessary to meet the rapidly growing eye health need In 2020, 1•1 billion people had distance vision impairment or uncorrected presbyopia. By 2050, this figure is expected to rise to 1•8 billion. Most affected people live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) with avoidable causes of vision impairment. During the life course, most people will experience vision impairment, even if just the need for reading glasses. Because of unmet needs and an ageing global population, eye health is a major public health and sustainable development concern which warrants urgent political action. Eye health is an essential component of universal health coverage; it must be included in planning, resourcing, and delivery of health care Universal health coverage is not universal without affordable, high quality, equitable eye care. In line with the WHO World report on vision, we urge countries to consider eye care as an essential service within universal health coverage. To deliver comprehensive services including promotion, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, eye care needs to be included in national strategic health plans and development policies, health financing structures, and health workforce planning. Coordinated intersectoral action is needed to systematically improve population eye health, also within healthy ageing initiatives, schools, and the workplace. Integration of eye health services with multiple relevant components of health service delivery and at all levels of the health system is of central importance.

Importance Visual acuity is the most frequently performed measure of visual function in clinical practice and the majority of people worldwide living with visual impairment are living in low and middle-income countries Objective To design and validate a smartphone-based visual acuity test that is not dependent on familiarity with symbols or letters commonly used in the English language. Design Validation study comparing results from smartphone Peek Acuity to Snellen Acuity (clinical normal) and the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) LogMAR chart (reference standard). Setting This study was nested within the six-year follow-up of the Nakuru Eye Disease Cohort in central Kenya. Participants Three hundred adults aged 55 years and above, recruited consecutively from the Nakuru Eye Disease Cohort Study.. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s) Outcome measures were monocular logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) visual acuity scores for each test: ETDRS LogMAR, Snellen and Peek. Peek was compared, in terms of test-retest variability (TRV) and measurement time, with that of the Snellen and ETDRS LogMAR chart in participants’ homes and temporary clinic settings in rural Kenya in 2013/2014. Results The 95% confidence limits for TRV of smartphone acuity data were +/-0.033 LogMAR. The mean difference between smartphone and ETDRS and smartphone and Snellen acuity data was 0.07 (95%CI: 0.05-0.09) and 0.08 (95%CI: 0.06-0.10) LogMAR respectively indicating that smartphone acuities agreed well with those of the ETDRS chart and Snellen. The agreement of Peek and ETDRS was greater than Snellen with ETDRS, p=0.08 (95%CI 0.05 to 0.10). The local Kenyan community health care workers readily accepted the Peek Acuity smartphone test; it required minimal training and took no longer than Snellen; 77s vs. 82s (95%CI: 71 – 84s vs. 73 – 91s, p=0.13). Conclusions The study demonstrated that the Peek Acuity smartphone test is capable of accurate and repeatable acuity measurements consistent with published data on the TRV of acuities measured using five-letter-per-line retro-illuminated LogMAR charts.

The evolution of mobile phone technology has introduced new possibilities to the field of medicine. Combining technological advances with medical expertise has led to the use of mobile phones in all healthcare areas including diagnostics, telemedicine, research, reference libraries and interventions. This article provides an overview of the peer-reviewed literature, published between 1 August 2006 and 1 August 2011, for the application of mobile/cell phones (from basic text-messaging systems to smartphones) in healthcare in both resource-poor and high-income countries. Smartphone use is paving the way in high-income countries, while basic text-messaging systems of standard mobile phones are proving to be of value in low- and middle-income countries. Ranging from infection outbreak reporting, anti-HIV therapy adherence to gait analysis, resuscitation training and radiological imaging, the current uses and future possibilities of mobile phone technology in healthcare are endless. Multiple mobile phone based applications are available for healthcare workers and healthcare consumers; however, the absolute majority lack an evidence base. Therefore, more rigorous research is required to ensure that healthcare is not flooded with non-evidence based applications and is maximized for patient benefit.

Importance Visualization and interpretation of the optic nerve and retina is an essential part of most physical examinations. Objectives To design and validate a smartphone-based retinal adapter enabling image capture and remote grading of the retina Design, setting and participants Validation study comparing the grading of optic nerves from smartphones images with those of a Digital Fundus Camera. Both image sets were independently graded at Moorfields Eye Hospital Reading Centre. Nested within the six-year follow-up of the Nakuru Eye Disease Cohort in Kenya: 1,460adults (2,920eyes) aged 55years and above were recruited consecutively from the Study. A sub-set of 100 optic disc images from both methods were further used to validate a grading app for the optic nerves. Main outcome(s) and measure(s) Vertical cup-to-disc-ratio (VCDR) for each test was compared, in terms of agreement (Bland-Altman & weighted Kappa) and test-retest variability (TRV). Results 2,152 optic nerve images were available from both methods (additionally 371 from reference but not Peek, 170 from Peek but not the reference and 227 from neither the reference camera or Peek). Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated a difference of the average of 0.02 with 95% limits of agreement between -0.21 and 0.17 and a weighted Kappa coefficient of 0.69 (excellent agreement). An experienced retinal photographer was compared to a lay photographer (no health care experience prior to the study) with no observable difference in image acquisition quality between them. Conclusions and relevance Non-clinical photographers using the low-cost Peek Retina adapter and smartphone were able to acquire optic nerve images at a standard that enabled comparable independent remote grading of the images to those acquired using a desktop retinal camera operated by an ophthalmic assistant. The potential for task-shifting and the detection of avoidable causes of blindness in the most at risk communities makes this an attractive public health intervention.