Results of global survey into myopia will be revealed at BCLA Asia

The findings of a global survey into myopia management will be presented at the first ever BCLA Asia later this year. More than 1,000 eye care practitioners from across the world were asked for their views on the increasing rates of myopia in children, their most frequently prescribed myopia management strategies and their relative effectiveness. Practitioners were also asked their reasons for prescribing conventional spectacles when myopia control strategies are available. The results, which will be presented during the two-day conference in Hong Kong this September, revealed that eye care practitioners are generally aware of a range of different methods of myopia control. 

Unsurprisingly, the concern was the highest among the eye care professionals in Asia, where myopia is most prevalent. However, regardless of their geographical location, practitioners correctly identified orthokeratology, pharmaceutical agents and outdoor activity as the most effective methods to slow down myopia progression. Nevertheless, two thirds of practitioners would still only consider conventional glasses or contact lenses for correcting their myopic patients, citing increased cost (35.6%), the lack of convincing information (33.3%) and unpredictable outcome (28.2%) as the main setbacks. 

A survey in Hong Kong indicated that orthokeratology was the most commonly known treatment for myopia control in children. However, although parents were receptive to the use of orthokeratology for myopia control in children, they were conservative with the use of contact lenses for myopic correction only. Safety was the major concern of the parents but other factors included confidence in the safety of the treatment, the effectiveness of myopia control and additional benefits from the treatment. The full results of the survey will be presented during a lecture being held at 2pm on Wednesday, September 14 as part of BCLA Asia at the Cordis Langham Place hotel in Hong Kong.
The session - ‘Myopia Management: Global Attitudes/ Approaches, Orthokeratology and Parental Perspectives’ - will be led by Professor Pauline Cho, Professor James Wolffsohn (pictured) and Professor Xie Pei Ying

Find more about the programme and to register here.