Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate the optometry adopted for adolescents and children in spectacle stores in urban area of China and the popularity of scientific optometry.
Methods :
Maps and yellow pages were used to collect the information of all spectacle stores in a city of China. The questionnaire was used to investigate spectacle stores that conformed to the inclusion standards in this city. The questionnaire covered the entire process of optometry, including method of optometry adopted for adolescents and children, use of cycloplegia refraction and type of cycloplegia drug, and optician’s knowledge on optometry for adolescents and children, such as necessity of cycloplegia refraction for adolescents and children and age limit.
Results :
The city had 131 spectacle stores. 127 of them conformed to the inclusion standards. 127 questionnaires were distributed and recycled with 100% response and effective rate. Only 4 spectacle stores (3.15%) conducted cycloplegia refraction for adolescents and children if it’s their first-time optometry. Only one store (0.79%) applied conventional cycloplegia refraction , while the other 3 (2.36%) applied medical cycloplegia refraction. 31 stores (24.41%) adopted the united fogging method for optometry, among which, 3 stores (2.36%) used united fogging method for conventional optometry and 28 (22.05%) used the united fogging method for medical optometry. 92 stores (72.44%) directly conducted optometry without relaxing the ciliaris, among which, 49 stores (38.58%) only used conventional optometry, while 43 stores (33.86%) only applied medical optometry. As to the age limit of cycloplegia refraction, 7 stores considered 6 years old as the boundary, 33 stores treated 12 years old as the boundary, 9 stores determined 18 years old as the boundary, 11 stores thought only amblyopia and hyperopia needed it, and 67 stores did not know.
Conclusions :
Cycloplegia refraction can eliminate the influences of cyclospasm. It is the essential step before optometry for adolescents and children. Through investigation, it was found that only 3% of spectacle stores conducted cycloplegia refraction for adolescents and children. The optometry process is lack of scientificity and standardization. Moreover, relatively speaking, spectacle store opticians lacked knowledge on optometry for adolescents and children, showing that popularization of scientific optometry should be further improved.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.