Preparing Institutions to Implement Harmonized Medicine and Nursing Curricula Through the Use of Cross-Institutional Faculty Developers.

Background: Effective implementation of new curricula requires faculty to be knowledgeable about curriculum goals and have the appropriate pedagogical skills to implement the curriculum, even more so if the new curriculum is being deployed at multiple institutions. In this paper, we describe the process of creating a common faculty development program to train cross-institutional faculty developers to support the implementation of national harmonized medicine and nursing curricula.

Methods: A five-step approach was used, including a cross-institutional needs assessment survey for faculty development needs, the development of a generic faculty development program, the identification and training of cross-institutional faculty educators, and the implementation of cross-institutional faculty capacity-building workshops.

Differentiating stages of functional vision loss from glaucoma using the Disc Damage Likelihood Scale and cup:disc ratio.

Background: Glaucoma staging is critical for treatment planning but has rarely been tested in severe/end-stage disease. We compared the performance of the Disc Damage Likelihood Scale (DDLS) and cup:disc ratio (CDR) using a functional glaucoma staging system (GSS) as the reference standard.

Methods: Post hoc analysis of a randomised controlled trial at the Eye Department of Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Tanzania.

Selective laser trabeculoplasty versus 0·5% timolol eye drops for the treatment of glaucoma in Tanzania: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Glaucoma is a major cause of sight loss worldwide, with the highest regional prevalence and incidence reported in Africa. The most common low-cost treatment used to control glaucoma is long-term timolol eye drops. However, low adherence is a major challenge.

Topical chlorhexidine 0.2% versus topical natamycin 5% for fungal keratitis in Nepal: rationale and design of a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial.

Introduction: Fungal infections of the cornea, fungal keratitis (FK), are challenging to treat. Current topical antifungals are not always effective and are often unavailable, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries where most cases occur. Topical natamycin 5% is usually first-line treatment, however, even when treated intensively, infections may progress to perforation of the eye in around a quarter of cases.

Activity of Chlorhexidine Compared with Seven Antifungal Agents against 98 Isolates Recovered from Fungal Keratitis Patients.

Fungal keratitis is a common but severe eye infection in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. In regions with a temperate climate, the frequency of infection is rising in patients with contact lenses and following trauma. Early and adequate therapy is important to prevent disease progression and loss of vision.