Fighting Global Blindness

Unoperated cataract is the cause of millions of cases of visual impairment and blindness in poor populations throughout both the developing and the developed world. This wonderfully written volume shares the experiences of a team of surgeons who have demonstrated how the surgical procedures can be simplified and made more efficient, accessible, and far less expensive. It is a step-by-step manual to solving the problem where adequate surgeons can be trained to follow suit. Subject matter ranges from ways to increase demand among those who need surgery to the organization of surgical services, responsibilities among different personnel, efficient layout of clinical facilities, and how to sustain services at the least cost to those who need it most. The basic lessons in this volume will remain pertinent for decades to come and provide a blueprint worthy of mass replication.

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.

Presents a February 2000 World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet about Vision 2020: The Right to Sight, a global initiative by WHO to eliminate avoidable blindness.

Cataracts cause about half of all cases of blindness worldwide, largely in developing countries. HelpMeSee Inc. is developing a simulator-based method for rapid cataract surgical training that RAND researchers determined could significantly help to close the backlog of cataract cases, expected to be 32 million globally by 2020. For this to occur, challenges in the areas of outreach, quality monitoring, and public acceptance must be met.

Essential Clinical Global Health is a brand-new, pioneering, and evidence-based textbook that provides a clinical overview of the increasingly prominent specialty of global health. Originally developed from a course at Harvard Medical School, and now with contributions from nearly 100 world-renowned global health experts from across the globe, this textbook presents vital information required of students, trainees, and clinicians during their international experiences and training. Essential Clinical Global Health introduces readers to the up-to-date knowledge, skills, and approaches needed for productive and rewarding global health experiences. It provides essential clinical information on the diagnosis, management, and prevention of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. The textbook also includes practical guidance on topics such as health systems, population-based approaches, cultural awareness and sensitivity, travel preparedness and safety, and career development in global health. With key learning objectives in each chapter, practical clinical advice, setting-appropriate guidelines, personal field experiences from student and clinician contributors, Essential Clinical Global Health is the first global health textbook with a clinical focus for healthcare students, trainees, and providers. A companion website at www.wileyessential.com/globalhealth features self-assessment questions and videos.

Now in paperback: a #1 New York Times–bestselling author’s gripping chronicle of “two doctors . . . bringing light to those in darkness” (Time) Second Suns is the unforgettable true story of two very different doctors with a common mission: to rid the world of preventable blindness. Dr. Geoffrey Tabin was the high-achieving “bad boy” of his class at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sanduk Ruit grew up in a remote village in the Himalayas, where cataract blindness—easily curable in modern hospitals—amounts to an epidemic. Together, they pioneered a new surgical method, by which they have restored sight to over 100,000 people—all for about $20 per operation. Master storyteller David Oliver Relin brings the doctors’ work to vivid life through poignant portraits of their patients, from old men who can once again walk treacherous mountain trails, to children who can finally see their mothers’ faces. The Himalayan Cataract Project is changing the world—one pair of eyes at a time.

Global Health continues to provide readers with a comprehensive, up-to-date and thought-provoking outline and understanding of the constantly evolving global health landscape. In this new edition the authors have maintained the successful structure and organisation of the previous edition to examine and explain recent health changes and consider likely future patterns. New or expanded topics covered include: emerging and re-emerging infectious disease threats increasing awareness of, and interest in, antimicrobial resistance and superbugs terrorism, global conflict and health the new UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development the drive for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) the use of information technology in global health substance abuse palliative and end-of-life-care ethical issues in global health. Using clear and original explanations of complex issues, this text makes extensive use of boxed case studies and international examples, with discussion questions posed for readers at the end of each chapter. Readers will also be able to take advantage of the new website that was designed to complement this book. Global Health is essential reading for students and researchers of global health, public health and development studies.