San Antonio, U.S., 7 November 2018: Brien Holden Vision Institute has announced the new online ‘Global Myopia Centre’, bringing its expertise and resources in myopia research, practitioner training and global advocacy, all onto one platform to educate eye care professionals and equip them to manage the impending escalation in myopia.
The platform will host the global online Myopia Education Program, several online tools for myopia management, global prevalence data, the latest relevant peer-reviewed references, and information and resources for advocacy initiatives.
Ms Yvette Waddell, CEO of Brien Holden Vision Institute, says the organisation has a long history in myopia research, practitioner training and development of technology and practical resources, and is well-placed to deliver what practitioners need to transition effectively to ‘myopia management.’
“The ‘Global Myopia Centre’ is bringing together the most critical knowledge and resources to the one platform to assist busy eye care professionals in better understanding all the new information available to them,” she said.
Brien Holden Vision Institute has developed a number of online tools specifically to help practitioners making the transition to managing myopia, including the ‘Myopia Calculator’ and ‘Guidelines for Myopia Management’, which are freely available from the centre.
“Our first ‘Managing Myopia’ course has been extremely popular”, Waddell said, “and in November we are launching ‘Complex Cases’, responding to participant feedback. In 2019, we are planning a new course ‘The Business of Myopia’, which will focus on adapting an optometric practice to maximise this transformation in patient care.”
Leading international researcher in the myopia field, Professor Padmaja Sankaridurg, Head of the Global Myopia Centre, says the platform brings together the organisation’s strengths across all aspects of myopia, specifically tailored for practitioners.
“We are at the cutting-edge of myopia research and can provide what optometrists need to adapt to what will be a monumental change in the profession,” Professor Sankaridurg said. “Importantly, this platform will continue to evolve and keep pace with new evidence, collaborators and technology. The Global Myopia Centre will link all aspects of myopia, from epidemiology and understanding the escalation, to offering education and professional models of myopia management in the community.”
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To find out more go to: globalmyopiacentre.org
ABOUT BRIEN HOLDEN VISION INSTITUTE AND MYOPIA
Since 2003, Brien Holden Vision Institute has had a strategic focus on myopia, conducting translational and epidemiological research, practitioner training and support, and global advocacy, to address this fast emerging public health issue. This includes the following initiatives:
Translational Research
Licensed several myopia management contact lens and spectacle designs to industry partners to produce products that help slow the progression of myopia.
Epidemiology
• Produced landmark research which projected the global and regional prevalence of myopia and high myopia to the year 2050.
• Predicted the changing prevalence of vision impairment due to myopia myopic macular degeneration (MMD) to the year 2050.
• Estimated the global burden in lost productivity resulting from uncorrected myopia and MMD.
Practitioner education
• Myopia Education Program – the first global, online courses providing accredited training for practitioners in myopia management, developed by our leading researchers and clinicians and featuring global experts.
New tools for practitioners
• Myopia Calculator
• Guidelines for Myopia Management
Advocacy
• Hosted joint Global Scientific Meeting on Myopia with the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015.
• ‘Our Children’s Vision’ campaign, to expand access to eye health services to children and which since 2016 has delivered eye care to over 27 million children through a global consortium of partners.
• Initiated the International Myopia Institute in 2015 to promote further research in myopia by bringing together scientists, clinicians, policy makers, government and educators, to stimulate collaboration and sharing of knowledge.
• Joining with the World Council of Optometry in 2018 to collaborate on a global myopia awareness campaign.
Developing myopia management market segment
• Hosting and supporting myopia forums across the world
• Continued podium presentations
• Supporting professional optometry associations
• Practitioner training
• Worldwide advocacy
• Raising awareness through industry and mainstream media.
