Eye Care In Developing Nations

About 50 million people are blind worldwide. Twenty million are blind from a single cause, cataract, and 75 percent are blind from conditions that are preventable and treatable. The majority of the world's blind live in developing countries where health care and medical resources are scarce. The technology for preventing blindness in these countries is simple, and eye care can be performed by specially trained health workers supervised by ophthalmologists, often in remote places with limited supplies and equipment. This book is intended are a reference and text for students and teachers of eye care and blindness prevention in these areas. The emphasis is one efficient and inexpensive methods of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention programs. This second edition has been revised and expanded, with updated coverage of onchocerciasis, nutrition, xerophtalmia, and the World Health Organization system for grading trachoma. A number of new illustrations are included to help clarify the textual material.

The number of the millions of blind in the world continues to grow, causing needless social and economic deprivation. Most of these blind can be cured, and much of the remainder prevented if all people had access to the simple and effective interventions that already exist. In this newly revised fourth edition ofEye Care in Developing Nations', t

Emphasizing efficient and inexpensive methods of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of blindness, this text addresses worldwide issues of blindness and eye care. The author discusses methods of establishing eye care clinics and blindness prevention programs in developing countries, where health care and medical resources remain defficient. Offering an international perspective, this volume will be an invaluable source book for students, teachers, and eye care specialists.

The number of the millions of blind in the world continues to grow, causing needless social and economic deprivation. Most of these blind can be cured, and much of the remainder prevented if all people had access to the simple and effective interventions that already exist. In this newly revised fourth edition of ‘Eye Care in Developing Nations’, the author describes in practical detail, what these interventions consist of and how they can be readily implemented. This is the handyman’s guide to delivering eye services to low-resource populations, whether they are pockets of poverty in otherwise affluent countries or broadly deprived populations living in the developing world. Demand for the first three editions from around the world has proved this book’s value. In this expanded and updated edition all chapters have been revised to reflect developments in public health and in medical and surgical treatments and techniques. The book’s value is further enhanced in the fourth edition by the greater emphasis given to clinical ophthalmology and the provision for the first time of colour photos and diagrams throughout.

This book presents a comprehensive treatise on community ophthalmology principles and practices for countries with developing and emerging economies. It is replete with chapters on basic epidemiology, health economics, basic statistics and lays the foundation of the global eye health-care programs with skills for community-based epidemiological projects in eye care. With extensive experience in conducting various epidemiological surveys funded by the Ministry of Health, WHO, Indian Council of Medical Research, etc., the editors provide practical knowledge to ophthalmologists, public health specialists, physician-scientists, researchers, eye care program managers, optometrists, and academicians involved in community ophthalmology operational studies. Key Features: • Presents a single platform for knowing everything about community ophthalmology from statistics and epidemiology to financing in an easy and succinct manner. • Serves as a robust resource and an advanced teaching tool for medical professionals. • Includes well-illustrated, succinct chapters for better understanding of various aspects of public health in eye care. • Provides tips and tricks for dealing with both expected and unexpected situations while conducting epidemiological research and data collection in the field.

The book covers all aspects of eye health in South-East Asia from public health to health system to education to industry in 6 sections. The World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia region comprises of 11 countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. This region is home to 26% of world population; there is a disproportionate amount of blindness (30.6%) and visual impairment (36%). This is a first of its kind book that discusses common conditions of visual impairment and blindness in the South-East Asia region. In addition, the book documents the current eye care industry in the region and the contribution of all eye health INGOs in eye care program planning and service delivery for many decades. Majority of the countries in the South-East Asia region are categorized in ‘middle-income country’ group. This book discusses the common challenges in these countries such as, suboptimal public expenditure in health, acute shortage of skilled eye health workforce, and rudimentary health industry. The book covers the following 6 sections: 1. Geographic description and health indices of the region 2. Health system evolved over years, including universal eye health, health financing and health management information system (HMIS) 3. Common eye problems including non-communicable disease NCD (and diabetic retinopathy), neglected tropical disease NTD (and Trachoma) 4. Health workforce in the region that includes ophthalmologists, optometrists, and allied ophthalmic personnel 5. Eye health support in the region of 13 international non-government organizations (INGOs) working for decades 6. Eye health industry in the region that includes spectacles, ophthalmic devices and equipment and the pharma industry The book would be a useful resource for ophthalmologists, all public health personnel and policy makers in eye health in the South-East Asia region specifically and all ophthalmologists and scientists interested in public health all over the world as well as for program planning to reach the 'Health for All' strategy by 2030 (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 2030).

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.