For the new laptop users at school, how will we protect those precious eyes? That was my major thought on Sunday morning, October 10. Eight hundred and fifty people took part in a Walk for Sight organised by the Volunteers from World Sight Day and their chairperson, Dr Desir�e Murray. A little later in my comments, I will try to address the above question. Some relevant facts first: WHO (World Health Organisation) estimates 153 million people are visually impaired because of uncorrected refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness or astigmatism).
Then, to quote Murray, lecturer in ophthalmology, UWI, "remember that your eyes need special care." When interviewed by the press, she highlighted the effect of computers as follows:
(Increasing amounts of the school day) are spent with educational computer programmes. However viewing a video screen is different from the printed page. "Often the letters on a computer screen are not as precise or sharply defined; the level of contrast is reduced, and there may be glare and reflections present on the screen." Murray advised that "all children should have a comprehensive eye examination prior to or soon after beginning computer monitor work and periodically thereafter." That's the challenge–examine, diagnose and protect. There's some good news. At the UWI commemoration of World Sight Day, the Minister of Health reported that in 2008-2009 the ministry "offered" free vision screening to 29,666 children, via its primary school health programme.
From January 2011, Minister Baptiste-Cornelis announced, 15 additional health assistants would be trained on vision screening to join the primary school programme. But in secondary schools, I say "The laptops have landed," to quote a headline.
For secondary schools, voices must call for a laptop vision partnership between the Ministry of Health, PAHO and the Ophthalmologic Society of T&T (established since 1984).
Together, and in concert with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, they will write the partnership's terms of reference to manage and monitor the massive new daily exposure to computer screens, in our variety of home and school environments.
One component, I think, for urgent attention should be a two-year research project, eg in year one, take Group A (four schools) and in Form One do the eye exam; alongside take a control group "B" but no eye exams. Offer to both visual health education. In year two, revisit both groups and assess the results.
Let me be quite clear: this is human-subject research. Total ethical discipline must apply. In the protocol summary, attention to minors as a "vulnerable population" will apply. A national bioethics committee may be pre-required.
Having a medical consultant, Dr Gopeesingh, as our Minister of Education should assist future vision policy: eg with laptop saturation, the impact on vision: negative or neutral? A young nation, computer-wired and sadly more visually impaired? Let the research project begin!
Arthur L McShine
Via e-mail