Ophthalmology Commons^™

Understanding Blue Light Retinal Damages And The Methods Of Prevention, Amelia Lee

Senior Honors Theses

Light emitting diode (LED) lights that comprise television screens, phone displays, laptops, and tablets have been studied by scientists in order to understand the implications of blue light radiation and the effects that it has on the human body—especially the retina of the eye. The retina is comprised of highly metabolic cells, and when those cells are placed under oxidative stress, death occurs causing ocular disease. Additionally, excess blue light exposure causes shifts in biological rhythms that govern patterns of alertness and sleep. Recently scientists began studying the methods of blue light prevention. Some studies show that blue light radiation …

Student Educational Background, Perceptions And Expectations Towards Optometry: An Emerging Eye Health Profession Mozambique., James Loughman, Ving Fai Chan, Vanessa Raquel Moodley, Luigi Bilotto, Kovin Naidoo

Articles

Background: The University of Lurio, School of Optometry in Mozambique is a new program in Africa. The school, the first to serve Portuguese-speaking Africa, can act as a template for such initiatives in other African countries and other limited-resource settings around the world. A major challenge facing such programs is the lack of knowledge about the profession, which impacts the recruitment of students and their expectations of the program. This study was conducted to understand students’ pre-enrollment educational background, perceptions and career expectations as an optometrist in Mozambique so as to inform future enrollment and other similar initiatives. Methods: First-year …

Factors Affecting The Academic Performance Of Optometry Students In Mozambique., James Loughman, Kajal Shah, Kovin Naidoo, Luigi Bilotto

Articles

Purpose. The Mozambique Eyecare Project is a higher education partnership for the development, implementation, and evaluation of a model of optometry training at UniLu´ rio in Mozambique. There are many composite elements to the development of sustainable eye health structures, and appropriate education for eye health workers remains a key determinant of successful eye care development. However, from the first intake of 16 students, only 9 students graduated from the program, whereas only 6 graduated from the second intake of 24 students. This low graduation rate is attributable to a combination of substandard academic performance and student dropout. The aim …

Low Vision Depression Prevention Trial In Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Randomized Clinical Trial., Barry W. Rovner, Robin J Casten, Mark T Hegel, Robert W Massof, Benjamin E Leiby, Allen C Ho, William S Tasman

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy of behavior activation (BA) + low vision rehabilitation (LVR) with supportive therapy (ST) + LVR to prevent depressive disorders in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

DESIGN: Single-masked, attention-controlled, randomized, clinical trial with outcome assessment at 4 months.

PARTICIPANTS: Patients with AMD and subsyndromal depressive symptoms attending retina practices (n = 188).

INTERVENTIONS: Before randomization, all subjects had 2 outpatient LVR visits, and were then randomized to in-home BA+LVR or ST+LVR. Behavior activation is a structured behavioral treatment that aims to increase adaptive behaviors and achieve valued goals. Supportive therapy is a nondirective, psychological treatment …

Primary School Vision Screening Involving Teachers In Nampula, Mozambique, Aoife Phelan, Lisa O'Donoghue, Kathryn Saunders, Stephen Thompson, Vivien Ocampo, Kevin Naidoo, James Loughman

Conference Papers

Purpose: There is no plan for a national child eye care programme or existing human resource infrastructure to address the immediate challenge of child eye health in Mozambique.This study aims to design, implement and evaluate a school based pediatric vision screening service, to identify those in need of eye care services, among Mozambique’s 11,561,000 children.

Methods: Primary School Screening took place in three schools in Nampula, Mozambique in September 2010 and March 2011. The children’s vision was screened by an optometry student, optometrist or teacher with Log MAR ETDRS letters at 4 Meters. Ophthalmoscopy was performed on all children by …