Challenges and impact of COVID-19 lockdown on Indian optometry practice: A survey-based study

PURPOSE

The Indian government announced a nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure to control the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. This survey was developed and conducted to assess the impact of lockdown on Indian optometry practice.

METHODS

A survey questionnaire was designed and circulated across the optometrists practicing in India through multiple social media platforms. All the data were extracted and only valid response were analyzed and reported.

RESULTS

A total of 691 optometrists participated in the survey. Most of the participants (22.25%) were in private practice followed by academics (14.89%). Among the valid responses collected, it was found that 43.37% of the respondents were consulting patients during the lockdown. Of these, 27.17% of optometrists were examining infectious cases and 48.68% were examining all the patients who came for consultation. Approximately 50.94% of the participated optometrist had begun telephonic/e‑mail/video consultations. In addition, 64.48% reported that optometrists were at an equal risk of clinching COVID‑19 on comparison with other domains during patient examination. Nearly 30.44% respondents felt that optometrists would face challenges in approaching the patient post COVID-19 considering the close working distance.

CONCLUSION

A proportion of optometrist have switched to some form of teleconsultation in order to aid patients during this prevailing pandemic. Regulatory bodies should issue appropriate guidelines regarding the safe optometry practice for the betterment of both patient and practitioners during face-to-face consultation.

Methodological variations in studies reporting normative data for binocular vision parameters: a scoping review protocol

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this scoping review is to map the methodological variations and population characteristics of the studies that report normative data for accommodation and vergence parameters.

INTRODUCTION

Accommodation and vergence are the two important parameters required for normal binocular vision. The presence of accommodation and vergence anomalies impairs the quality of life of an individual by interfering with their daily visual activities. Diagnosis of accommodative and vergence anomalies requires a series of test procedures. The test procedure or the tool used could influence the outcome measured. Different study designs and methods have been used to estimate the normative data; therefore, we aim to explore the variation in terms of population characteristics and methods used to measure accommodative and vergence parameters.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

This scoping review will include published literature that assesses normative function of various binocular vision parameters with a focus on mapping the methodological differences.

METHODOLOGY

JBI methodological framework for scoping reviews will be followed. The review will also be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. Three-phase searches for identifying relevant articles will be conducted in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, African Journals Online, LILACS, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Google Scholar. The review undertakes two stages of screening: i) title/abstract screening and ii) full-text screening. The data will be extracted from the retrieved full text. The results will be tabulated and summarized descriptively.