Simulation of visual impairment in persons with normal vision for scientific research.

Simulation of visual impairment in healthy eyes has multiple applications in students' training, research and product development. However, due to the absence of an existing standard protocol, the method of simulation was left to the discretion of the researcher. This review aimed to outline the various methods of simulating visual impairment and categorising them.

Barriers and enablers to low vision care and rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa within a global context.

Low vision is an uncorrectable form of visual impairment that affect millions of people worldwide. Low vision care and rehabilitation are essential to improving the independence of affected individuals. Even though sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest burdens of low vision globally, there are inadequate care and rehabilitation services in most countries and in some cases they are non-existent This scoping review aimed to identify the barriers and enablers to low vision care and rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa and assess these within the global context.

Central contrast sensitivity perimetry discriminates between glaucomatous and non-glaucomatous eyes.

Background: Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy which causes irreversible vision loss. Standard perimetry, which is essential for glaucoma diagnosis, can only detect glaucomatous visual filed loss when considerable structural damage has occurred. Contrast sensitivity is one of the visual function tests that is reduced in eyes with glaucoma.

Refractive error correction among urban and rural school children using two self-adjustable spectacles.

Objective: Self-refracting spectacles (SRSs) have different optical and mechanical designs, which may affect the refractive outcome, depending on the experience of the end user. This study compared the performance of two SRS among children in Ghana.

Methods And Analysis: A cross-sectional study of two Alvarez variable-focus SRS designs was conducted.

The effect of filters and varying illumination on contrast sensitivity in eyes with moderate to severe visual impairment.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of filters and illumination on contrast sensitivity in persons with cataract, pseudophakia, maculopathy and glaucoma to provide a guide for eye care providers in low vision rehabilitation.

Materials And Methods: A within-subjects experimental design with a counter-balanced presentation technique was employed in this study. The contrast sensitivity of eyes with cataract, pseudophakia, maculopathy and glaucoma was measured with filters (no filter, yellow, pink and orange) combined with increasing illumination levels (100 lx, 300 lx, 700 lx and 1000 lx) using the SpotChecks™ contrast sensitivity chart.

Dry eye symptom questionnaires show adequate measurement precision and psychometric validity for clinical assessment of vision-related quality of life in glaucoma patients.

Purpose: To ascertain the presence of Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) in patients being treated for glaucoma, using subjective and objective methods and to examine DES impact on their quality of life (QOL).

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted by employing 156 glaucoma patients recruited from treatment centers in the Cape Coast Metropolis in Ghana. All the participants underwent dry eye examination and completed the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ), the Dry Eye-related Quality of Life Score (DEQS) and the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI).

Case Series: Avoidable Blindness after Inappropriate Ophthalmic Self-medication in Ghana.

Significance: Inappropriate ophthalmic self-medication continues to plague Sub-Saharan Africa because of lack of public health education and inaccessibility to eye care services. This case series describes three cases of blindness (two monocular, one binocular) in Ghana, because of self-treatment of ocular conditions using improper drugs or homemade herbal mixtures. The article highlights the consequences of misinterpretation of symptoms and use of traditional home remedies, leading to delayed professional eye care and avoidable blindness.

Associations between personality traits and adherence to treatment in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma in an African population.

Clinical Relevance: Inclusion of personality profile assessment and appropriate psychotherapeutic regimen in glaucoma diagnosis and management protocols could prove useful for enhanced medication adherence in patients living with glaucoma.

Background: There is poor adherence to medication among patients with glaucoma, especially in people of African ancestry. The present study assessed the influence of personality traits on adherence to glaucoma medication among patients living with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) from an African population.

Accuracy of Noncycloplegic Refraction for Detecting Refractive Errors in School-aged African Children.

Significance: Cycloplegia is often restricted in screening settings. Previous studies have evaluated noncycloplegic refraction for screening, but their data are not fully applicable to school-aged African children. This article adds to the literature by investigating this in school-aged African children.

Assessment of four validated questionnaires for screening of dry eye disease in an African cohort.

Purpose: To evaluate the 5-item dry eye questionnaire (DEQ-5) for measurement precision and unidimensionality, and assess the ability of Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), McMonnies Dry Eye Questionnaire (MQ), Ocular Comfort Index questionnaires (OCI), and DEQ to predict clinical measures of DED in an African population.

Method: Participants (n = 113; mean age 24.7 ± 5.

Socio-demographic factors modify awareness, knowledge, and perceived risk of glaucoma in rural and urban residents in Ghana: a population-based survey.

Purpose: To evaluate the awareness, knowledge and the perception of risks of glaucoma among rural and urban dwellers in Ghana, a high prevalent country, in order to provide information for health promotion planning.

Method: In a population-based descriptive cross-sectional survey, 1200 adults were selected from household settings, using a two-stage cluster and simple systematic random sampling. Quantitative data collection, using interviewer-administered questionnaire, was employed.

Smartphone usage among people living with severe visual impairment and blindness.

Low vision care and rehabilitation is often limited by access to assistive devices, especially in low-resourced countries, due to their high cost and unavailability. Smartphones have the potential to serve as an alternative assistive device for people living with severe visual impairment and blindness (SVIB). This study aims to investigate the use of smartphones among people living with SVIB.

Ocular Symptoms of SARS-CoV-2: Indication of Possible Ocular Transmission or Viral Shedding.

The recently identified novel coronavirus (CoV), the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While published data about other highly infectious human COVs [that is, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)] provide helpful information about the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, there is limited understanding surrounding knowledge of ocular manifestation of the virus. This paper reviews published data which reveal the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in tears and conjunctival scrappings of some COVID-19 patients by real-time-polymerase chain reaction assay, although the detection rate is low compared to samples from respiratory sites.

Oral consumption of Garcinia kola(Bitter kola) lowers intraocular pressure.

Purpose: Garcinia kola (bitter kola) is locally ingested across the West African subregion. It has ocular hypotensive effects similar to some commonly used glaucoma medications when administered topically. The study assessed the effect of oral ingestion of G.

Normative Values of Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer Thickness and Optic Nerve Head Parameters and Their Association with Visual Function in an African Population.

Purpose: To determine normative values of retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (RNFL) and optic nerve head (ONH) parameters and their association with routine clinical tests such as refractive error (RE), stereoacuity (SA), and contrast sensitivity (CS) in an African population.

Methods: In a cross-sectional observational study, 100 normal subjects aged 20 to 78 years were evaluated using the Cirrus HD-OCT 5000 and matched with 200 glaucoma patients.

Results: Average (±SD) RNFL thickness for normal subjects was found to be 102.

Inter-regional trends in causes of childhood blindness and low vision in Ghana.

Background: Inter-regional trends of visual loss in most developing countries remain largely unknown. We compared the causes of childhood blindness among children attending blind schools in the northern (one school) and southern (two schools) regions of Ghana and assessed their need for spectacles and low-vision devices.

Methods: Using a standardised methodology, children were examined by an ophthalmologist and optometrists in each location.

Comparative evaluation of a novel solar powered low-cost ophthalmoscope (Arclight) by eye healthcare workers in Malawi.

This study compared a novel low-cost solar powered direct ophthalmoscope called the Arclight with a traditional direct ophthalmoscope (TDO). After appropriate training, 25 Malawian eye healthcare workers were asked to examine 12 retinal images placed in a teaching manikin head with both the Arclight ophthalmoscope and a traditional direct ophthalmoscope (Keeler Professional V.2.

Self-refraction accuracy with adjustable spectacles among children in Ghana.

Purpose: To determine the accuracy of self-refraction (SR) in myopic teenagers, we compared visual and refractive outcomes of self-refracting spectacles (FocusSpecs) with those obtained using cycloplegic subjective refraction (CSR) as a gold standard.

Methods: A total of 203 eligible schoolchildren (mean [±SD] age, 13.8 [±1.

Awareness, knowledge and self-care practices toward glaucoma among final year health science university students in Ghana.

Background: In the absence of adequate services, patients have to rely on the few health professionals that they do come into contact with to advise them on their treatment options. The aim of this study was to determine the level of awareness and knowledge of glaucoma, and the association between these factors and self-care practices among final year health science university students in Ghana.

Method: A cross-sectional survey involving the use of a structured questionnaire was conducted among 273 final year students (67 per cent) studying at any one of eight health science programs in three selected public universities in Ghana.