Public Eye Health and Community Optometry

Visual Impairment is a public eye health challenge that affects millions of people worldwide. Over 80% of the visual impairment avoidable. A multi-prong approach is needed to address the burden of visual impairment which is more rampant in rural areas. Public Eye Health and Community Eye Care deals with both research to understand the burden of visual impairment using epidemiological tools and also evaluation of service delivery models to address the burden of visual impairment. Understanding the research methods used in eye health, basic understanding of epidemiology and bio statistics will form the core content of this course.

Completed projects (Since 2019)

1. Hyderabad Ocular Morbidity in Elderly Study (HOMES) (2017-2020)
Funding: DBT/Wellcome India Alliance (Early Career Fellowship)

2. Akividu Visual Impairment Study (AVIS) (2019 - 2020)
Funding: HERF

3. Nirmal Eye Evaluation for Trends (NEET) study (2021 - 2022)
Finding: IHOPE through DBT India Alliance

4. Rapid Assessment of Visual Impairment Project, Nagar Kurnool, Telangana (2023)
Finding: Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation (HERF). L V Prasad Eye Institute

5. Rapid Assessment of Refractive Errors in Koshi Province in Nepal (2022 - 2023)
Finding: OneSight Essilor Luxottica Foundation

6. Vision in Occupational Groups Eye Study (VOGES) (2019-2022)
Funding: Lion Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) – Sight First Research grant

Funding: Lion Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) – Sight First Research grant
(Service delivery project)