The future of eye care in a changing world: call for papers

Bull World Health Organ 2017;95:667 | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.17.202952 Editorials 667 Eyesight plays a critical role in health and in people achieving a good quality of life. It has a pivotal influence on the way a person relates to and integrates into society, and an impact on many other areas, such as education and employment.1–3 Through- out the life course, vision affects child cognitive development, mental health, professional and personal trajectories and functional capacity in older people.4–7 Past investments in blindness pre- vention programmes have improved outcomes for individuals and generated economic benefits through enabling peo- ple to work – those directly affected and their caregivers.8,9 The age-standardized prevalence of severe, moderate and mild vision impairment is no longer increasing significantly, reflecting a shift in causes from communicable to chronic diseases.10 However it is estimated that popula- tion growth and ageing could contribute towards a tripling in the number of people with vision impairment; by 2050 there could be 115 million people who are blind, up from 38.5 million in 2020.10 New estimates also show that approximately 1 billion people over 35 years are currently affected by near vision impairment due to uncorrected presbyopia, 668 million of whom are over 50 years.10 However prevalence statistics only tell part of the story. Many people are affected by diseases or conditions that impact their vision and do not have timely access to services. There are also discrepancies in how different populations are affected. For example, women are estimated to have higher prevalence of blindness than men across all regions of the world.10In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have six times the rate of blindness of other Australians.11 There is however, a dearth of evidence about which groups miss out, why and what can be done about it.12 Eye care is often not well integrated into health systems, and often receives insufficient attention in workforce strate- gies and health information management systems, for example. Some health systems are therefore supporting service delivery models and approaches that may not be the most effective. Ineffective service delivery impacts on efficiency, reducing opportunities to free up and reallocate resources that could be used to improve quality or to reach groups that miss out. These resources are substantial; the annual global health system costs of recognizing, preventing and treating visual impair- ment have been estimated to be US$ 2.3 trillion.13 Increased efforts to provide timely and high-quality comprehensive eye care are needed in the context of population growth, non-communicable diseases and ageing. These demographic trends will lead to increased numbers of people with preventable and or irreversible vision loss. Eye care needs to be an integral part of universal health coverage to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 3 - ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.14 The Bulletin of the World Health Organization will publish a theme issue on vision. Papers for all sections of the Bulletin are welcomed around the central theme of ‘what works’. The theme issue will also supplement a forthcoming World report on vision. The report is expected to provide evidence on the prevalence and magnitude of eye diseases/conditions and vision loss globally, as well as its preven- tion, treatment and rehabilitation. It will offer recommendations, including a num- ber focused on ensuring universal access to quality comprehensive and integrated eye care services in countries. We welcome papers for the theme issue that provide evidence across all health strategies (promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation) and systems building blocks, in particular, those that focus on best practices, innovation and the use of technology. Papers that identify gaps and provide solutions to ensure eq- uitable access to services are encouraged. Papers should seek to integrate examples from low- and middle-income countries and different age groups. We strongly encourage papers that address health system issues, rather than focusing solely on one specific disease or condition. The deadline for submissions is 15 March 2018. Manuscripts should be submitted in accordance with the Bulletin’s Guidelines for contributors (http://submit.bwho.org), and the cover letter should mention this call for papers. ■ 1. Nazroo J, Zimdars A. Social inclusion, social circumstances and the quality of life of visually impaired older people. London: Thomas Pocklington Trust; 2010. 2. Harrabi H, Aubin MJ, Zunzunegui MV, Haddad S, Freeman EE. Visual difficulty and employment status in the world. PLoS One. 2014 02 7;9(2):e88306. 3. Ma X, Zhou Z, Yi H, Pang X, Shi Y, Chen Q, et al. Effect of providing free glasses on children’s educational outcomes in China: cluster randomized controlled trial. BMJ. 2014 09 23;349 sep23 7:g5740. 4. Cavézian C, Vilayphonh M, Vasseur V, Caputo G, Laloum L, Chokron S. Ophthalmic disorder may affect visuo-attentional performance in childhood. Child Neuropsychol. 2013;19(3):292–312. 5. Harris J, Lord C. Mental health of children with vision impairment at 11 years of age. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2016 Jul;58(7):774–9. 6. Shaw A, Gold D, Wolffe K. Employment- related experiences of youths who are visually impaired: how are these youths faring? J Vis Impair Blind. 2007;101(1):7. 7. Christ SL, Zheng DD, Swenor BK, Lam BL, West SK, Tannenbaum SL, et al. Longitudinal relationships among visual acuity, daily functional status, and mortality: the Salisbury eye evaluation study. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2014 Dec;132(12):1400–6. 8. Chakravarthy U, Biundo E, Saka RO, Fasser C, Bourne R, Little JA. The Economic impact of blindness in europe. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2017 Aug;24(4):239–47. 9. Frick KD, Foster A. The magnitude and cost of global blindness: an increasing problem that can be alleviated. Am J Ophthalmol. 2003 Apr;135(4):471–6. 10. Bourne RRA, Flaxman SR, Braithwaite T, Cicinelli MV, Das A, Jonas JB, et al.; Vision Loss Expert Group. Magnitude, temporal trends, and projections of the global prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health. 2017 Sep;5(9):e888–97. 11. Eye health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,Cat. no. IHW 49. Canberra: Australian Institute for Health and Welfare; 2011. 12. Ramke J, Zwi AB, Palagyi A, Blignault I, Gilbert CE. Equity and blindness: closing evidence gaps to support universal eye health. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2015;22(5):297–307. 13. The global economic cost of visual impairment. Access Economics; 2010. 14. Sustainable development goals. New York: United Nations; 2015. The future of eye care in a changing world: call for papers Alarcos Cieza,a Ivo Kocur,a Silvio Mariottia & Megan McCoya References a Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention, World Health Organization, World Health Organization, avenue Appia 20, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland.