As Optician readers will be well aware, the term glaucoma covers a group of eye diseases that cause damage to the optic nerve. If left undiagnosed, visual damage will likely irreversibly worsen and may lead to blindness.
Millions of people worldwide are blind due to glaucoma and the expectation is that this number will rise rapidly in the years ahead. For those interested in communicating the importance of catching glaucoma in its early stages to patients (especially high-risk first degree relatives of existing sufferers) via regular eye tests, World Glaucoma Week is a great opportunity. There will be a multitude of events across the world from March 10 to 16 that you and your practice can add to. All the information you need is below but first Professor Ivan Goldberg, chair of the World Glaucoma Week committee writes:
‘As a major collaboration between the World Glaucoma Association and the World Glaucoma Patient Association, the series of activities around World Glaucoma Week globally alerts people to have regular eye (and optic nerve) checks to detect glaucoma earlier, thus contributing to sight preservation.
‘A wide range of publicity-attracting activities around the world involve ophthalmologists, optometrists and other eye care workers in hospitals, universities, clinics, private practices include many private individuals, especially those with glaucoma or with family members with glaucoma. Glaucoma societies and glaucoma patient associations all participate.
‘Each year we adopt a common theme that is then adapted to local conditions; this unites our efforts. Recently we have concentrated on first degree relatives (FDRs) as they have a ten-fold increase in life-long glaucoma risk. If FDRs were to act on this information with regular glaucoma optic nerve tests, it would be likely to save a great deal of sight.
‘The glaucomas cause progressive damage to the vision; they do so without warning till later in the disease process and while treatment is effective in arresting the disease, it cannot reverse damage already present. The earlier the diagnosis, the less damage done and the more vision there is to save.
‘Newsletters and social media posts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) will provide ideas you might find useful when you arrange a project in your neighbourhood and will add to a network in which we are all able to inspire and guide one another as we share our goals and our strategies. By sharing successes as well as less successful ventures, we should be able to learn from one another and to be even more effective to reach our goal: elimination of glaucoma blindness.’
IAPB launch Focus On: Glaucoma campaign
For World Glaucoma Week, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) is partnering with international organisations and experts in glaucoma care to launch a new campaign, called Focus On: Glaucoma. The charity will be marking the week with a series of lectures, webinars and blog posts.
‘Glaucoma is a major cause of blindness and vision impairment, and we need a collaborative strategy to tackle it’, said Joanna Conlon, director of development and communications, IAPB. ‘Glaucoma constitutes an important public health concern, and addressing it is crucial to delivering universal health coverage. IAPB is delighted to bring together some of the best minds in glaucoma care and delivery, to kick-start these conversations.’
The cornerstone of the IAPB’s activities will be a high-profile lecture at 6-8pm on March 12, 2019 at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in London. The lecture will host Prof Sir Peng Khaw, Dr Winifred Nolan and Ms Jess Blijkers, who will present on the complications of glaucoma, glaucoma care in developing countries and the critical need to scale up glaucoma services in Sub-Saharan Africa.
All are welcome to attend the lecture by registering at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/focus-on-glaucoma-registration-56399942747. The event will also be broadcast live on the IAPB Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IAPB1).
IAPB will also present four webinars to cover the glaucoma as it presents in the regions of North America, Africa, South East Asia and China/West Pacific for members and partnering organisations to take part in during March 10-16 , 2018. The webinars will spread out during the week and will be organised to reach out to different time-zones and topics of interest within glaucoma. The details are below with times for the UK.
Glaucoma simulation for WGW
The International Glaucoma Association (IGA) and specialist ophthalmology company Santen Pharmaceutical, have joined forces to produce a unique interactive eye test to demonstrate what the world looks like to people living with glaucoma. The test is part of a joint campaign to raise awareness of the eye condition among younger first-degree relatives of older people most likely to develop glaucoma.
The test will be posted on IGA and Santen social channels (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) and on the companies’ respective websites in time for World Glaucoma Week, March 10-16, 2019. The quiz consists of a series of intriguing questions where images are shown that simulate missing objects and cloudy vision which are the hallmark of glaucoma, and leads to more information about glaucoma.
IGA estimate that there are 700,000 people with glaucoma in the UK today, but half are undiagnosed. If left untreated glaucoma can lead to serious loss of vision, with up to 40% of sight being permanently lost before the effects are noticed by the individual.
Commenting on the initiative, Karen Osborn, CEO of the IGA says: ‘We’re delighted to be partnering with Santen in creating this unique test to raise awareness of glaucoma among a younger audience. By reaching people via their social channels in a visually impactful way, we hope to create a lasting impression of what glaucoma sight loss looks like, so they can be aware of early symptoms among older relatives and can encourage regular eye checks to pick up the condition early.’
A number of free leaflets relating to glaucoma, including one on the importance of tests for family members of existing patients, are available on the IGA website (www.glaucoma-association.com/shop/free-leaflets.html).
Activity ideas
Here are some suggestions for optical practices and eye care professionals to get involved via the organisers of World Glaucoma Week (worldglaucomaweek.org).
Media coverage
- Contact newspaper to write a story on WGW
- Contact newspaper to publish an article or editorial that you have written
- Contact radio station to cover the WGW
- Contact TV channel to cover the WGW
- Dissemination of information and promotion of glaucoma awareness
- Organise open-door day at your practice.
- Post on practice website, blog or newsletter relevant material advertising the World Glaucoma Week.
- Distribute printed material advertising the World Glaucoma Week, or other relevant brochures.
- Submit to the WGW website selected parts of a patient’s journal or interview for publication/dissemination by others.
Public educational events
- Organize a patient-educational event at your practice or at a suitable public venue. Invite a prominent patient, or a patient support group to have an event at your practice.
Screening events
- Organise free screening day at your practice.
- Organise free screening at public venue.
Miscellaneous
- Distribute WGW-marked every day-use items (like badge-holders, paperweights, key rings, tote-bags, T-shirts)
- Participate at a sporting event under the WGW colours.
- Download the Eye-Q test: An awareness-raising questionnaire available for download at http://worldglaucomaweek.org/download/dl_files.php...
Webinar on Glaucoma in North America
Topics: What is glaucoma, and its prevalence? What does glaucoma do to you? (disabilities and blindness); Present therapies, problems and the future
Speakers: Drs Alan Robin, Pradeep Ramulu, Josh Ehrlich, Paula Newman-Casey.
Timing: March 13 – 16:30-17:30
Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/52378384...
Webinar on Open Angle Glaucoma in Africa
Speakers: Drs Adeola Onakoya, Fatima Kyari and Heiko Phillippin
Timing: March 13 – 15:00-16:00 (UK)
Register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/64018650...
Webinar on Glaucoma in South East Asia
Topics: Ensuring Glaucoma care in rural settings, opportunistic screening for glaucoma at the hospital and in outreach.
Speakers: Drs R Venkatesh, Nikhil S Choudhari and Suman Thapa
Timing: March 14, 07:30-08:30
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/11070810...
Webinar on Glaucoma in China and West Pacific
Speakers: Drs Mingghuang He, Nathan Congdon and Xiulan Zhang.
Timing: March 15, 23:00-24:00
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/46811403...
Additional resources available for WGW from the IAPB include campaign posters available to download and print out from www.iapb.org/advocacy/world-glaucoma-week-2019/focus-on-glaucoma-promotional-material.