Refractive error, risk of amblyopia and eye care services utilisation among Nunavik Inuit in Northern Canada.

Clinical Relevance: Nunavik Inuit patients, in Northern Canada, have a significant burden of refractive error. The frequency at which they access eye care is insufficient. This exposes children of this population to a substantial risk of refractive amblyopia.

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%.

Age Affects How Task Difficulty and Complexity Modulate Perceptual Decision-Making.

Decisions differ in difficulty and rely on perceptual information that varies in richness (complexity); aging affects cognitive function including decision-making, and yet, the interaction between difficulty and perceptual complexity have rarely been addressed in aging. Using a parametric fMRI modulation analysis and psychophysics, we address how task difficulty affects decision-making when controlling for the complexity of the perceptual context in which decisions are made. Perceptual complexity was varied in a factorial design while participants made perceptual judgments on the spatial frequency of two patches that either shared the same orientation (simple condition) or were orthogonal in orientation (complex condition).

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.

Smoking and the eye: what Québec teenagers know and fear.

Background: Although most people associate smoking with lung cancer and heart disease, few are aware of the impact of smoking on ocular health. Studies have suggested a better knowledge of this association might promote higher quit rates, particularly in teenagers. The purpose of our study was to determine the knowledge of teenagers about the effects of smoking on ocular health and the fear associated with several tobacco-related health conditions.

Educating smokers about the risk of blindness - insights to improve tobacco product health warning labels.

Background: Health warning labels (HWL) on tobacco products help educate smokers about the health effects from smoking; however, there is a need to improve HWL content including images and text to increase effectiveness. In Canada, a HWL was created that communicates smoking's causal association with "blindness" from age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study surveyed Canadian optometrists about their opinions regarding the image and text used in the "blindness" HWL.

Patient tobacco use in optometric practice: a Canada-wide study.

Purpose: A national census survey of optometrists in Canada measured knowledge of ocular diseases associated with smoking cigarettes and current practice behaviors related to addressing tobacco use with patients, including prevention and cessation. Optometrists were also asked to identify tools to assist addressing tobacco use with patients.

Methods: An online bilingual (English/French) survey was developed and an e-mail with a link to the survey was sent to all 4528 optometrists registered in Canada.

Smoking cessation counselling practices among Québec optometrists: evaluating beliefs, practices, barriers and needs.

Background: Despite the fact that cigarette smoking is a well known risk factor for many ocular diseases, very little data exist regarding optometrists' interventions in smoking cessation counselling with their patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the practices, perceptions and educational needs of Québec optometrists regarding smoking cessation counselling.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire pertaining to smoking cessation counselling practices was mailed to 600 optometrists licensed in Québec.

Evidence of a possible impact of the menstrual cycle on the reproducibility of scotopic ERGs in women.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of gender and menstrual cycle on the electroretinogram (ERG). Photopic and scotopic ERGs were obtained in 14 females during the luteal and follicular phases of their menstrual cycle and compared to those obtained on two separate (7 days or 14 days apart) sessions from seven age-matched control male subjects. Our results confirm that the amplitude of the photopic ERGs of females is significantly (P < 0.