World Council of Optometry, CooperVision to host virtual myopia management event

Image Credit: AdobeStock/Drazen

World Council of Optometry (WCO) has partnered with CooperVision to put on a virtual myopia management event with a Latin American focus on February 20, 22, 27, and 29.

The event, entitled “Myopia Management: From Theory to Practice,” is being held to further advocate for myopia management to be a more integral standard of care, according to a news release. Registration is free, but necessary to attend the event.

The event will be held entirely in Spanish and divided into 4 90-minute sessions over the course of the 4 days, and will begin at 6 pm in Central America, 7 pm in Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru, and 9 pm in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. WCO has also collaborated with several Latin American organizations, including Group Manejo the la Miopia LATAM, Asociación Latinoamericana de Optometría y Óptica, Colegio Federación Colombiana de Optómetras, and Colegio de Optometras de Puerto Rico.¹

“Enhancing patient care through early identification and intervention is crucial to addressing myopia effectively,” said Sandra Block OD, MEd, MPH, FAAO, Dipl AAO, FCOVD, FNAP, ARVO, WCO president. “To do this, we need expanded education, research focused in Latin America, wider access to the tools for myopia management and support from the industry. The World Council of Optometry is enlisting the help of key opinion leaders who have adopted myopia management to spread the word through regional virtual events like this one. We thank all our collaborators and partners, including CooperVision, for supporting this critical mission to increase myopia awareness and treatment in Latin America and beyond.”

Speakers for “Myopia Management: From Theory to Practice” include the following:

• Sandra S. Block, OD, MEd, MPH, FAAO, Dipl AAO, FCOVD, FNAP, ARVO, from the U.S.
• Carlos Chacón, OD, MSc, from Ecuador
• Edgar Dávila-García, OD, FSLS, FIACLE, NCLE-AC, from Puerto Rico
• Elise Kramer, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA, from the U.S.
• Angel Macedo, Mg. Optom, Lic T.M., from Peru
• Nelson Merchán, OD, MSc., PhD, FIACLE, FAAO, from Colombia
• Andrea Monteleone, OD, MEd, from Argentina
• Leonardo Orjuela, OD, from Colombia
• Héctor Hugo Páez, OD, from Colombia
• David Pinero, PhD, from Spain
• Ricardo Pintor, OD, FIACLE, from Latin America
• Nikolas Rosse, TMOC, from Chile
• Alejandro Tapia, OD, from Colombia
• Ariolfo Vazquez, OD, FSLS, FIACLE, from Ecuador

In 2021, WCO introduced a myopia management standard of care resolution, outlining the 3 pillars of standard of care being mitigation, measurement, and management. Main talking points for the event include each eye care provider’s perspective on myopia and how the WCO’s 3 pillars impact their work in myopia management.¹

Vision impairment (VI) and myopia remain imminent threats to eye health on a global scale. An estimated 29% of uncorrectable VI is attributable to a myopia-related disease, with 40% of those patients below 60 years of age. It is projectable that in 2050, each 1% in myopia is equal to 2.7 million cases of VI.²

However, what may be considered effective in combatting myopia on one side of the world, may be considered ineffective on the other side. Surveys conducted in 2015 and 2019 indicate that increasing myopia rates are causing a high level of concern among eye care providers, but the majority of respondents to said survey prescribe single vision refractive correction to young myopes. Particularly in South America, “compared to other regional countries (P < 0.05): more pharmaceuticals and fewer PALS and RCL in Argentina; more pharmaceuticals and fewer myopia control spectacles and multifocal contact lenses in Brazil; more orthokeratology in Ecuador; and more bifocal and PALS and fewer combination therapies in Peru” were used to combat myopia, according to a global study conducted based on surveys from 2015 to 2019.³

References

1. World Council of Optometry hosts landmark myopia management virtual event focused on Latin America. World Council of Optometry. Press Release. Published January 22, 2024. Accessed January 25, 2024. https://worldcouncilofoptometry.info/world-council-of-optometry-hosts-landmark-myopia-management-virtual-event-focused-on-latin-america/

2. Jong M, Brennan N, Bullimore M. The Role of Myopia in 2020 uncorrected global visual impairment. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. June 2022, Vol.63, 243 – A0097.

3. Wolffsohn JS, Whayeb Y, Logan NS, Weng R. IMI-Global trends in myopia management attitudes and strategies in clinical practice-2022 update. Invest Opthalmol Vis Sci. 2023 May; 64(6): 6. doi: 10.1167/iovs.64.6.6