Implementation of the optometry Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum framework.

Clinical Relevance: There is now an Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ) accreditation requirement for Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand optometry programs to ensure students can provide culturally safe care for First Nations Peoples. To assist programs, OCANZ developed the .

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate early progress towards the implementation.

Hyperopia in schoolchildren: Investigating the impact on vision and determining appropriate methods for screening.

Introduction: Hyperopia is associated with reduced vision and educational outcomes in schoolchildren. This study explored the impact of clinically significant hyperopia (≥+2.00 D) on visual function in schoolchildren and compared the ability of different screening tests (alone and in combination) to detect this level of hyperopia.

Optical Coherence Tomography-Derived Measurements of the Optic Nerve Head Structure of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children.

Prcis: This study demonstrated significant differences in optic nerve head characteristics in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children compared with non-Indigenous children, which has implications for glaucoma risk and diagnosis in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the optic nerve head (ONH) characteristics of visually normal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and non-Indigenous Australian children.

Materials And Methods: Spectral domain optical coherence tomography imaging was performed on the right eye of 95 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and 149 non-Indigenous Australian children (5-18 years).

Ocular biometry measures and their correlation with refractive error in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Clinical Relevance: The ocular biometry measures of the eye determine the refractive status, and while most refractive error develops during childhood, the ocular biometry measures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have not previously been reported.

Background: To investigate the ocular biometry of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, including measures important in determining refractive error and those which relate to the risk of ocular disease.

Methods: Participants included 252 primary and secondary school children (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander: 101; non-Indigenous: 151), aged between 4 and 18 years.

Prevalence of vision conditions in children in a very remote Australian community.

Clinical Relevance: Understanding the prevalence of vision conditions in a population is critical for determining the most appropriate strategies for detecting and correcting eye conditions in a community. This is particularly important in very remote regions where access to vision testing services is limited.

Background: Although recent studies have provided detailed analyses of the prevalence of vision conditions in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children in urban and regional areas of Australia, there is a paucity of research examining vision conditions in children in remote regions.

Developing culturally safe education practices in optometry schools across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Access to culturally safe health services is a basic human right, however through the lasting effects of colonisation, oppression, and systemic racism, the individual and community health of Indigenous peoples in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand have been severely impacted. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety Strategy of the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency, and the Standards of Cultural Competence and Cultural Safety of the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board of New Zealand, recognise the importance of access to safe health care for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori patients, which encompasses both clinical competency and cultural safety. Universities have an ongoing responsibility to ensure their learning and teaching activities result in graduates being able to provide culturally safe practice.

Retinal thickness in healthy Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Background: Understanding normative retinal thickness characteristics is critical for diagnosis and monitoring of pathology, particularly in those predisposed to retinal disease. The macular retinal layer thickness of Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children was examined using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

Methods: High-resolution macular optical coherence tomography imaging was performed on 100 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and 150 non-Indigenous visually healthy children aged 4-18 years.

Educator perspectives on implementing the Optometry Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum framework.

Clinical Relevance: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have the right to the highest attainable standard of health and access to health services without discrimination. To uphold these rights, it is important that optometry students are educated in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and culturally safe practice.

Background: An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum framework is now mandatory for optometry programs to implement.

Eye movement patterns and reading ability in children.

Purpose: Eye movements are integral to the reading process. This study characterised the eye movement patterns of children differentiated by their reading ability, while completing a saccadic eye movement test with irregular target spacing (Development Eye Movement (DEM) test) using a novel eye movement classification algorithm.

Methods: Participants included 196 Grade 2 Australian schoolchildren (mean age: 7.

High Rates of Uncorrected Vision Conditions among Schoolchildren in Rural Queensland, Australia.

Significance: This study is the first to report high rates of uncorrected vision conditions among Australian secondary schoolchildren living in a rural area and to comment on the rate of eye examinations undertaken on Australian Indigenous children. Uncorrected vision problems that continue throughout the school years have significant implications for children's quality of life and education.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of uncorrected vision conditions among Australian schoolchildren.

Choroidal Thickness in Indigenous Australian Children.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the choroidal thickness profiles in visually normal Australian Indigenous children, given the important role of the choroid in refractive error and a range of ocular diseases.

Methods: Choroidal thickness was assessed across the central 5 mm macular region using enhanced depth imaging spectral domain optical coherence tomography, in 250 children enrolled in an elementary school and a secondary school in rural Queensland, Australia. One hundred (40%) of these children identified as Indigenous Australians.

Do reduced visual acuity and refractive error affect classroom performance?

The role of visual acuity and refractive errors in the academic performance of children is controversial due to the variable quality of the research in this area and the mixed findings reported. This review aims to provide clarity by reviewing and critiquing relevant peer-reviewed publications and also summarises what is known regarding the visual demands of modern classroom environments. The outcomes of this review suggest that while a number of studies have investigated the role of vision in relation to children's academic performances, the veracity of the evidence obtained from the majority of these studies is undermined by methodological limitations.

Involving patients in the development of interpersonal skills of optometry students.

Background: Providing patients an opportunity to give feedback to optometry students on their communication and interpersonal skills allows for a unique learning opportunity. The aim of the current project was to determine if the Doctors' Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (DISQ) was suitable for use with optometry students in a large teaching clinic and if it provided useful feedback to the students for learning purposes.

Methods: The DISQ is a 12-item questionnaire that utilises a five-point Likert scale; a higher score indicates better performance.

Visual information processing skills are associated with academic performance in Grade 2 school children.

Purpose: This study evaluated the association between performance on visual information processing tests and academic performance in school children.

Methods: Visual-motor integration (VMI), the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test, visual acuity and stereoacuity were assessed in 222 Grade 2 children (mean age: 7.90 ± 0.

Validity of the +1.50 plus lens screening test as a predictor of uncorrected moderate hyperopia.

Purpose: Screening for uncorrected hyperopia in school children is important given its association with poorer visual function and academic performance. However, standard distance visual acuity screening may not detect low to moderate hyperopia. The plus lens test is used to screen for hyperopia in many school screening protocols, but has not been well validated.

Vision and academic performance in primary school children.

Purpose: Vision is considered important for academic performance in children; however, the evidence in this area tends to be inconsistent and inconclusive. This study explored the association between vision function and visual information processing measures and standardised academic achievement scores in Grade 3 Australian children.

Methods: Participants included 108 Grade 3 primary school children (M = 8.

Vision Problems and Reduced Reading Outcomes in Queensland Schoolchildren.

Purpose: To assess the relationship between vision and reading outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous schoolchildren to determine whether vision problems are associated with lower reading outcomes in these populations.

Methods: Vision testing and reading assessments were performed on 508 Indigenous and non-Indigenous schoolchildren in Queensland, Australia divided into two age groups: Grades 1 and 2 (6-7 years of age) and Grades 6 and 7 (12-13 years of age). Vision parameters measured included cycloplegic refraction, near point of convergence, heterophoria, fusional vergence range, rapid automatized naming, and visual motor integration.

A Visual Profile of Queensland Indigenous Children.

Purpose: Little is known about the prevalence of refractive error, binocular vision, and other visual conditions in Australian Indigenous children. This is important given the association of these visual conditions with reduced reading performance in the wider population, which may also contribute to the suboptimal reading performance reported in this population. The aim of this study was to develop a visual profile of Queensland Indigenous children.

Review of guidelines for children's vision screenings.

The aim of children's vision screenings is to detect visual problems that are common in this age category through valid and reliable tests. Nevertheless, the cost effectiveness of paediatric vision screenings, the nature of the tests included in the screening batteries and the ideal screening age has been the cause of much debate in Australia and worldwide. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to report on the current practice of children's vision screenings in Australia and other countries, as well as to evaluate the evidence for and against the provision of such screenings.

Refraction in children: a comparison of two methods of accommodation control.

Purpose: The prevalence of refractive errors in children has been extensively researched. Comparisons between studies can, however, be compromised because of differences between accommodation control methods and techniques used for measuring refractive error. The aim of this study was to compare spherical refractive error results obtained at baseline and using two different accommodation control methods-extended optical fogging and cycloplegia-for two measurement techniques-autorefraction and retinoscopy.