Maintaining quality in community eye care - The Aravind model

Approaches for delivery of refractive and optical care services in community and primary care settings

BACKGROUND

Uncorrected refractive error is a leading cause of vision impairment which, in most cases, can be managed with the appropriate spectacle correction. In 2021, the World Health Assembly endorsed a global target of a 40-percentage-point increase in effective coverage of refractive error by 2030. To achieve this global target, equitable access to refractive and optical services within community and primary care settings needs to be strengthened. This review will inform the development of technical guidance to support improvements in the testing and correction of refractive error among World Health Organization (WHO) member states.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the range of approaches for delivery of refractive and optical care services in community and primary care settings, and the methods employed for their evaluation.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health databases, grey literature, and annual reports and websites of relevant organizations involved in eye-care delivery from January 2002 to November 2022 to identify approaches for refractive and optical service delivery.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included observational and interventional studies, reviews, and reports from relevant organizations related to delivering refractive services and optical services for preschool and school-aged children and adults in community and primary care settings published between January 2002 and November 2022. We searched for studies and reports published within the last 20 years because vision impairment due to uncorrected refractive error has only recently become a public health and eye health priority, therefore we did not expect to find much relevant literature until after 2002.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors screened titles, abstracts and full texts, and extracted data. We resolved any discrepancies through discussion. We synthesized data, and presented results as tables, figures, and case studies. This project was led by the World Health Organization (WHO) Vision and Eye Care Programme.

MAIN RESULTS

We identified 175 studies from searches of databases and grey literature, 146 records from company reports, and 81 records from website searches of relevant organizations that matched our inclusion criteria. Delivery approaches for refractive and optical services in community care included school-based, pharmacy, and outreach models, whereas primary care approaches comprised vision centre, health centre, and a combination of vision or health centre and door-to-door delivery. In community care, school-based and outreach approaches were predominant, while in primary care, a vision-centre approach was mainly used. In the WHO African region, the school-based and outreach approaches were mainly reported while, in the Americas, the outreach approach was mostly used. Very few approaches for service delivery were reported in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region. Prominent gaps exist in the evaluation of the approaches, and few studies attempted to evaluate the approaches for delivery of refractive and optical care services.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

We comprehensively describe a range of approaches for delivery of refractive and optical services in community and primary care. Further evaluation of their effectiveness will better inform the application of these service-delivery approaches. The study outcomes will help guide WHO member states in strengthening refractive and optical services at community and primary care levels.

FUNDING

This scoping review was supported by the Vision and Eye care Programme, World Health Organization and ATscale Global Partnership.

REGISTRATION

The protocol of this scoping review was published in the Open Source Framework.

A practical model for effective eye care delivery in Southeast Asian rural communities: A proposal built based on experts' recommendations

PURPOSE

To evaluate rural community-based eye care models from the perspective of community ophthalmology experts and suggest sustainable technological solutions for enhancing rural eye care delivery.

METHODS

A semi-structured descriptive survey, using close-ended and open-ended questions, was administered to the experts in community ophthalmology sourced through purposive sampling. The survey was self-administered and was facilitated through online platforms or in-person meetings. Uniform questions were presented to all participants, irrespective of their roles.

RESULTS

Surveyed participants (n = 22 with 15 from India and 7 from Nepal) in high-volume tertiary eye hospitals faced challenges with resources and rural outreach. Participants had mixed satisfaction with pre-operative screening and theatre resources. Delayed presentations and inexperienced surgeons contributed to the surgery complications. Barriers to rural eye care included resource scarcity, funding disparities, and limited infrastructure. In rural/peri-urban areas 87% of participants agreed with providing primary eye care services, with more than 60% of the experts not in agreement with the makeshift center model of eye care delivery. Key components for an effective eye care model are sustainability, accessibility, affordability, and quality. These can be bolstered through a healthcare management platform and a human-chain supply distribution system.

CONCLUSION

Tailored interventions are crucial for rural eye care, emphasizing the need for stronger human resources, optimized funding, and community awareness. Addressing challenges pertinent to delayed presentation and surgical training is vital to minimizing complications, especially with advanced cataracts. Enhancements in rural eye care demand a comprehensive approach prioritizing accessibility, affordability, and consistent quality.

Accuracy of an artificial intelligence-based mobile application for detecting cataracts: Results from a field study

Purpose

To assess the accuracy of e-Paarvai, an artificial intelligence-based smartphone application (app) that detects and grades cataracts using images taken with a smartphone by comparing with slit lamp-based diagnoses by trained ophthalmologists.

Methods

In this prospective diagnostic study conducted between January and April 2022 at a large tertiary-care eye hospital in South India, two screeners were trained to use the app. Patients aged >40 years and with a best-corrected visual acuity <20/40 were recruited for the study. The app is intended to determine whether the eye has immature cataract, mature cataract, posterior chamber intra-ocular lens, or no cataract. The diagnosis of the app was compared with that of trained ophthalmologists based on slit-lamp examinations, the gold standard, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was estimated. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were computed.

Results

The two screeners used the app to screen 2,619 eyes of 1,407 patients. In detecting cataracts, the app showed high sensitivity (96%) but low specificity (25%), an overall accuracy of 88%, a PPV of 92.3%, and an NPV of 57.8%. In terms of cataract grading, the accuracy of the app was high in detecting immature cataracts (1,875 eyes, 94.2%), but its accuracy was poor in detecting mature cataracts (73 eyes, 22%), posterior chamber intra-ocular lenses (55 eyes, 29.3%), and clear lenses (2 eyes, 2%). We found that the area under the curve in predicting ophthalmologists' cataract diagnosis could potentially be improved beyond the app's diagnosis based on using images only by incorporating information about patient sex and age (P < 0.0001) and best-corrected visual acuity (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Although there is room for improvement, e-Paarvai app is a promising approach for diagnosing cataracts in difficult-to-reach populations. Integrating this with existing outreach programs can enhance the case detection rate.

Factors Associated with Out-of-Pocket Expenditure among Patients Admitted for Cataract Surgery under District Blindness Control Society Scheme: A Cross-Sectional Study from a Private Medical College Hospital of South India

Background:

The National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment in India supports the management of various conditions of the eye including cataracts.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to estimate out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) and factors associated with it among patients admitted for cataract surgery under District Blindness Control Society (DBCS) scheme.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a Medical College Hospital of Coastal Karnataka, South India. Data were collected using a predesigned semi-structured interview schedule from 100 patients admitted for cataract surgery under DBCS scheme. Costs were reported as median values with interquartile range (IQR) and compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test.

Results:

Median total cost incurred by the patient was INR 1700 (IQR 1052–2575). Median direct costs (1425, IQR 762.5–2200 INR) included medical expenditure (600, IQR 0–1475 INR), mainly contributed by the treatment of systemic comorbid conditions and nonmedical expenditure toward travel. Median indirect costs (400, IQR 200–600 INR) included loss of wages for the patient and the bystander.

Conclusions:

OOPE for cataract surgery among DBCS patients was associated with the presence of comorbidity, postponement of surgery, duration of hospital stay, and distance traveled by the patient.