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Education as an Intervention for Myopia Control and Prevention

by | Jun 1, 2023 | Manuscripts | 0 comments

Aksha Shetty, M. Optom

Fellow-Clinical Research, Ph.D. Scholar, BITS Goa; Head of Optometrist, V.A. Mayekar Optician, Mumbai, India

 

There has been a drastic increase in the prevalence of myopia in the previous decade. It is a silent pandemic that is affecting children all around developing and developed countries leading to visual disability. (1,2) There are various ways of managing myopia, and it depends on case-by-case, parent education is the missing piece of the puzzle. Parent education can be tricky. Explaining that the child has to wear glasses and won’t be able to see clearly without them is big news adding to it explaining the progression of myopia and the associated risk can be an information overload.

The best way to educate your parents about Myopia is through

1. Online presence

Online presence is an important marketing tool in today’s world. This can also be used as a way to communicate with parents. Many parents will go online initially. The availability of easy-to-understand information and your website will increase their confidence and interest in the treatment. Ask your existing patients and parents to leave a recommendation or review for you on the website. This will help in boosting your practice as well as help parents make an informed choice.

2.  Research articles and data

Make available simple text or blogs that disintegrate complex research into simple text and use layman’s language. Present a graphical representation of the data to explain parents in a better and a sophisticated way. The best way to do this is by making a small but effective presentation with minimum text. Keep in mind to not overload parents with unwanted and confusing information and keep it simple.

3.  Use tools

BHVI calculator which is a freely available tool can be used to show parents the difference in the progression of myopia without any treatment and with different treatments available. (3) This will help parents understand the importance of treatment. Many private service providers are trying to bridge the communication gap between consultants and parents. (Figure 1)

Figure 1. BHVI Myopia calculator can be used to demonstrate benefits of myopia treatment over the period of time. [Picture Courtesy: https://bhvi.org/myopia-calculator-resources/]

5. Explain the treatment plan

It is very important to explain all the available options and their risks and benefits. Parents must have a very realistic approach toward the outcome of the treatment and so it is very important to cross-question parents after giving them information. It is also important to explain how myopia management is a holistic treatment and the involvement of parents is very important as this is a very long and extensive treatment. It is also best to inform parents about how many visits they are supposed to come for and the cost involved in the treatment.

6. Regular updates

Be connected to your parents through social media, in-mails, and text messages. Share about recent advances in myopia and links to educational videos and blogs that will help them understand it better.

Along with this, it is also very important to keep yourself updated. With all forms of information available online, parents may have all different types of queries. Solving these queries with proper answers will help parents develop confidence in you. Even if you do not practice myopia management, it is important that inform parents about this and refer them to myopia management practitioners. Educating parents and patients is vital as this plays a role in determining the success of the treatment.

Take home message

  1. Creating an online presence with information related to myopia and treatment along with reviews of existing parents and customers can be the starting point if parent education
  2. Presentation and graphical representation of research data can be used to make the explanation more interesting and meaningful
  3.  Use online available tools or collaborate with service providers to make patient education easier
  4. Keep parents and patients informed about different types of myopia management, their risks, and benefits
  5. Keep your parents updated about recent advances in myopia and myopia management

 

Reference

  1. Morgan IG,Ohno-Matsui K, Saw SM, Myopia. Lancet. 2012; 379:1739-48.
  2. Rohit Saxena, Praveen Vashisht, and Vimla Menon, Is Myopia a Public Health Problem in India? Indian J Community Med.2013 Apr-Jun; 38(2): 83-85. Doi:10.4103/0970-2018.112436
  3. Yang Y,Cheung SW, Cho P, Vincent SJ. Comparison between estimated and measured Myopia progression in Hong Kong children without myopia control intervention. Ophthalmic physiol. Opt. 2021 Nov;41(6): 1363-1370.doi: 10.1111/opo.12895.Epub 2021 Oct

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