The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness’ annual awareness event, World Sight Day (WSD), provided a focus for much of the optical sector this year and allowed companies and associations to demonstrate their charitable credentials and raise awareness of important issues.
Coronavirus provided the backdrop to the awareness event this year on October 8, with much of the support offered to sight loss organisations intended to mitigate the negative impacts that the virus has had on care provision.
Sight survey
Online prescription spectacles retailer Glasses Direct marked this year’s WSD with the release of a survey it conducted on the impacts of lockdown on vision. The company surveyed 2,000 people in Britain and discovered that 28% of respondents listed tired and sore eyes as the issue they had suffered from most in lockdown. The same proportion of respondents reported trouble falling asleep, with another 24% complaining of headaches. More women (68%) reported suffering from these symptoms than men (57%).
Glasses Direct’s survey also revealed that of those who reported suffering from eye-related issues, 52% believed it could be linked to the amount of time spent looking at screens each day. Positive news came from the revelation that 40% of respondents recognised their eye health as important, compared to 52% of those who considered their mental health important and 65% who felt the same way about their physical health.
David Hutchfield, head of professional services at Glasses Direct, offered advice to those concerned about their eye health: ‘Take a break from your screens when possible, get a good night’s sleep and make sure you are protecting your eyes from external forces such as the sun’s harmful UV rays.’
Local efforts
Lens company Shamir UK supported WSD’s worldwide effort by providing support to a community close to its Cambridge office, Sight Concern Bedfordshire. This independent charity operates throughout Bedfordshire and Luton to support those living with visual impairments to live active and independent lives, but faced difficulties brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund, piloted the Virtual Social Groups scheme in response to worries about the effects of isolation on those with visual impairments. Its scheme enabled staff and volunteers at Sight Concern Bedfordshire to organise online groups and activities designed to help people stay connected throughout lockdown.
However, a lack of funds left the charity unable to provide the technology to allow its users to get online. Shamir UK has donated 10 Samsung Tab A tablets to those unable to access online activities, providing an outlet for visually impaired people to combat
feelings of isolation during lockdown.
Awareness and action
EssilorLuxottica undertook a range of initiatives for WSD, including raising awareness across the world and providing free eye screenings in China and India.
Leveraging its network of associated stores in China, EssilorLuxottica launched a customer-facing fundraising campaign that attempted to raise enough funds to provide free eye screenings to more than 10,000 children across Chenduo County. People in Chenduo County are exposed to high altitudes and strong ultraviolet light due to the county’s location on the Tibetan plateau. Compounded by a lack of eye care education, this has caused a number of vision issues for the population there.
Essilor’s Vision Foundation also partnered with eye hospitals in India to provide screening for around 4,000 of those experiencing poverty, while employees from EssilorLuxottica set up temporary clinics to provide eyewear to people in South Africa and organised awareness campaigns around the world.