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The Australian government needs to improve access to
vision correction and alternative
eye surgery options, it has been claimed.
According to the University of Melbourne's chair of indigenous eye health Professor Hugh Taylor, while there has been a dramatic improvement in eyecare in the country, provision for indigenous Australians is still lacking.
A recent study, which looked at 30 Aboriginal communities across Australia, found that most eyesight loss and deterioration in the Aboriginal population could be prevented with standard
vision correction techniques.
Un-operated cataracts, diabetes, uncorrected refractive errors such as myopia and trachoma - all of which are treatable - were found to be common causes of blindness in the demographic.
"Vision loss in indigenous adults is predominantly from preventable or treatable causes," said Professor Taylor.
"Adequate provision of accessible eye care services is required to redress this inequality and close the gap for vision loss in Australia," he added.
The
vision correction study looked at 3,000 indigenous individuals and found that 9.4 per cent had poor vision. A further 1.9 per cent were completely blind.
However, the research also found that childhood short-sightedness was far less common in Aboriginal children than the young population of Australia as a whole.
"The good vision of indigenous children can be accounted for by the relative infrequency of myopia (short sightedness)," Professor Taylor concluded.
Recent research published in the Archives of Ophthalmology has shown that the prevalence of myopia in the western world is 66 per cent higher than it was 30 years ago - highlighting the importance of an effective cure for childhood myopia.
One solution to the growing number of people suffering from short-sightedness is the use of overnight corrective lenses such as i-GO's Ortho K lenses.
Worn at night, the devices gently reshape the eye, correcting vision problems and allowing wearers to do away with glasses and disposable contact lenses during the day.
Eye Health: Find out if i-GO over night contact lenses will suit you.
Written by Emily Stafford
