Development and validation of an instrument to assess job satisfaction in eye-care personnel.

Purpose: The aim was to develop and validate an instrument to measure job satisfaction in eye-care personnel and assess the job satisfaction of one-year trained vision technicians in India.

Methods: A pilot instrument for assessing job satisfaction was developed, based on a literature review and input from a public health expert panel. Rasch analysis was used to assess psychometric properties and to undertake an iterative item reduction.

Clinical Competency of 1-Year Trained Vision Technicians in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Purpose: To assess clinical competency of 1-year trained vision technicians (VTs) in detecting and referring causes of visual impairment in India.

Methods: Eye examination results and management plans for 328 patients examined by 24 VTs in 24 vision centers of LV Prasad Eye Institute in Andhra Pradesh were compared with those of a standard optometrist who examined the same patients. Eye examinations included retinoscopy and subjective refraction, slit lamp examination, applanation tonometry and undilated direct ophthalmoscopy.

Selection considerations when using a 'standard optometrist' to evaluate clinical performance of other eye-care personnel.

Background: Selection of a standard professional is crucial for assessing the clinical performance of other eye-care personnel. This paper describes the selection considerations and the clinical competency assessment of two optometrists required to select a 'standard optometrist' (SO) for evaluating the clinical performance of vision technicians in India.

Methods: Two optometrists were short-listed from 21 optometrists who responded to an advertisement to be selected as a SO for the assessment of the performance of 24 vision technicians in rural vision centres.

Real cost of recycled spectacles.

Purpose: Many programs aimed at mitigating the problem of uncorrected refractive error and the resulting avoidable blindness use recycled (donated) spectacles as a seemingly inexpensive expedient. This article analyses the costs and benefits of recycled spectacles and compares them with alternative methodologies. Although well intentioned, it is argued that recycled spectacles will neither suit many of those affected by uncorrected refractive error nor provide a cost saving solution to the problem.

The impact of continuing professional development on ophthalmic dispensing of progressive addition lenses in the Asia-Pacific region.

Background: Discrepancies exist in optometric education, practice and regulation across the Asia-Pacific region and the competence of optometric practitioners in adopting new lens technologies may vary widely. Over the past 10 years, a continuing professional development program, Varilux Academy Asia-Pacific (VAAP), was implemented and conducted in countries across the Asia-Pacific region to improve practitioners' understanding of optometric fitting principles, with special emphasis on progressive addition lenses (PAL). The aim was to demonstrate the effectiveness of VAAP and to compare the competence of practitioners across the Asia-Pacific region in new lens fitting technologies.

Global vision impairment due to uncorrected presbyopia.

Objectives: To evaluate the personal and community burdens of uncorrected presbyopia.

Methods: We used multiple population-based surveys to estimate the global presbyopia prevalence, the spectacle coverage rate for presbyopia, and the community perception of vision impairment caused by uncorrected presbyopia. For planning purposes, the data were extrapolated for the future using population projections extracted from the International Data Base of the US Census Bureau.