Lessons from 2020 for equity in global eye health

Harwood, Matire; Cunningham, W. F.

doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(21)00036-x

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The survey will also estimate the prevalence of hearing impairment, diabetes and foot problems, and the research team will engage communities, services providers and decision-makers to generate knowledge on how to deliver accessible, people- (and whānau/family-) centred care. The support for this survey alongside the launch of this ECSAT report helps us proceed as “pessimistic optimists” 10 that we are at the beginning of an era that sees eye health services strengthened for all New Zealanders.…”

Section: Textmentioning

confidence: 98%

Eye health for all in Aotearoa New Zealand: summarising our situation using a WHO tool

Silwal

Watene²,

Harwood³

et al. 2023

The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific

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Section: Textmentioning

confidence: 98%

Eye health for all in Aotearoa New Zealand: summarising our situation using a WHO tool

Silwal

Watene²,

Harwood³

et al. 2023

The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific

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“…One strategy which would help the eye health sector commit to an equity-focused agenda is to have diverse leadership structures. 29 Yashadhana et al highlight that we have a long way to go to have leaders that reflect the gender-and ethnic-diversity of the profession or the population. Currently only 1 in 3 board members of member organisations of the International Council of Ophthalmology and the World Council of Optometry are women, falling to 1 in 17 being a woman from an ethnic minority.…”

Section: G U E S T E D I T O R I a Lmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One strategy which would help the eye health sector commit to an equity‐focused agenda is to have diverse leadership structures 29 . Yashadhana et al .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeing beyond 2020: what next for refractive error care?

Ramke

Logan

2021

Ophthalmic Physiologic Optic

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“…Over one billion people worldwide now live with avoidable blindness or visual impairment (VI), the majority in lowand middle-income countries (LMICs) or low-income socioeconomic groups (1). Eye health programmes aim to eliminate avoidable blindness, however their success depends upon effective implementation.…”

Section: Introduction Eye Health Programmesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving equity, efficiency and adherence to referral in Pakistan's eye health programmes: Pre- and post-pandemic onset

Khan

Talpur

Awan³

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundOver one billion people worldwide live with avoidable blindness or vision impairment. Eye Health Programmes tackle this by providing screening, primary eye care, refractive correction, and referral to hospital eye services. One point where patients can be lost in the treatment journey is adherence to hospital referral.ContextPeek Vision's software solutions have been used in Pakistan with the goal of increasing eye health programme coverage and effectiveness. This involved collaboration between health system stakeholders, international partners, local community leaders, social organizers and “Lady Health Workers”.ResultsFrom the beginning of the programmes in November 2018, to the end of December 2021, 393,759 people have been screened, 26% of whom (n = 101,236) needed refractive services or secondary eye care, and so were referred onwards to the triage centers or hospital services. Except for a short period affected heavily by COVID-19 pandemic, the programmes reached an increasing number of people over time: screening coverage improved from 774 people per month to over 28,300 people per month. Gathering and discussing data regularly with stakeholders and implementers has enabled continuous improvement to service delivery. The quality of screening and adherence to hospital visits, gender balance differences and waiting time to hospital visits were also improved. Overall attendance to hospital appointments improved in 2020 compared to 2019 from 45% (95% CI: 42–48%) to 78% (95% CI: 76–80%) in women, and from 48% (95% CI: 45–52%) to 70% (95% CI: 68–73%) in men. These patients also accessed treatment more quickly: 30-day hospital referral adherence improved from 12% in 2019 to 66% in 2020. This approach helped to utilize refractive services more efficiently, reducing false positive referrals to triage from 10.6 to 5.9%. Hospital-based services were also utilized more efficiently, as primary eye care services and refractive services were mainly delivered at the primary healthcare level.DiscussionDespite various challenges, we demonstrate how data-driven decisions can lead to health programme systems changes, including patient counseling and appointment reminders, which can effectively improve adherence to referral, allowing programmes to better meet their community's needs.

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Lessons from 2020 for equity in global eye health

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Eye health for all in Aotearoa New Zealand: summarising our situation using a WHO tool

Eye health for all in Aotearoa New Zealand: summarising our situation using a WHO tool

Seeing beyond 2020: what next for refractive error care?

Improving equity, efficiency and adherence to referral in Pakistan's eye health programmes: Pre- and post-pandemic onset

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