The Visionary Fall 2009

UNESCO Chair in Visual Health and Development Celebrates Five Years at NSU By Janet Leasher, O.D., M.P.H., FAAO Assistant Professor of Optometry and North American Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair in Visual Health and Development at NSU I n February 2004, Dr. David Loshin, HPD Chancellor Dr. Fred Lippman, and NSU President Ray Ferrero, Jr., J.D., signed a Memorandum of Understanding to host the North American Associated Center of the UNESCO Chair in Visual Health and Development at NSU’s College of Optometry. Janet Leasher, O.D., M.P.H., FAAO, assistant professor, was appointed as the center’s coordinator. The UNESCO Chair program, which is part of the United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organization, facilitates the advancement of research, training, and program development in higher education by building university networks and encouraging inter- university cooperation through knowledge transfer across borders. A group of universities in different countries pools its competencies to address a need in the international development context. Reinforcing this dynamic of networks and partnerships creates a reference of excellence at the regional level and builds upon the strength of each institution. This platform of information sharing and generation of new ideas through research and reflection facilitates enrichment of existing university programs while respecting cultural diversity. In 2002, Anna Rius, O.D., and Laura Guisasola, O.D., at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalonia in Terrassa, Spain, were awarded the Chair in Visual Health and Development by UNESCO. Along with NSU, Associated Centers of the UNESCO Chair were established at the University of El Salvador Medical Faculty for Central America and at the University of Santo Tomas College of Optometry in Bucaramanga, Colombia, for South America. The UNESCO Chair’s overarching philosophy is that visual health encompasses much more than a healthy eye free from disease, but involves the capacity of all people to maximize their human potential and quality of life through good vision and the actions that result from good vision. The Chair affirms that visual health heavily depends upon social, political, spiritual, educational, and economic determinants of health. The context of access to quality visual health care plays a crucial role in visual health, as does empowerment of all people to recognize and care for their own visual health. The Chair’s main goal is to improve high-quality visual health for the most disfavored populations through three action lines: education and raising awareness, research and investigation, and cooperation for development projects. EDUCATION AND RAISING AWARENESS Since 2002, the Chair has created a course entitled “Visual Health and Development” to educate about the process of all forms of development—social, economic, and human—and to examine the links between visual health and international development. A train-the- trainers capacity building course included educational materials (a bilingual CD-ROM, a textbook, and an instructor classroom guide) that were delivered to professors from 57 countries, including optometry schools in North America at a trainer’s course in February 2004. At NSU, this course is currently offered as part of the online Master’s in Clinical Vision Research program. The Chair sponsored and hosted courses in cooperation for development techniques for nongovernmental organizations working in the visual health sectors in North America and Central America during 2007. The Chair also worked to develop a protocol for Corporate Social Responsibility for the Visual Health Sector along the lines of the United Nations Global Compact. A protocol for evaluating your company in accordance with international principles of corporate social responsibility is available from the Chair. RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION At the initiation of the UNESCO Chair in Visual Health and Development, scarce scientific evidence existed on the relationship between visual health and international development even though many eye care providers make the assumption that the relationship is obvious. SAVIM Study The co-directors of the Chair, together with development experts, developed a research protocol known by its Spanish acronym SAVIM (Situación de la Atención Visual Mundial). The SAVIM protocol is a situational analysis of global vision care systems and the contextual determinants of visual health. This investigational research is designed to document the factors influencing visual health and the accessibility to eye care services in the developing countries of the world. Utilizing a qualitative and quantitative approach, an analysis of global development indicators is performed, such as the • Human Development Index • Gross Domestic Product • Gender Development Index • Adult Literacy Rate • Human Poverty Index • Gini Index The socioeconomic, political, and cultural aspects of a country form the basis for accessibility to health care services. Health status indicators such as life expectancy, mortality rates, and physician-per- capita ratios are also considered. A situational analysis of the eye and vision care sector included the • number, type, and distribution of eye care providers • legislation and registration of providers • distribution of educational programs for eye care providers • existence of professional associations and nongovernmental or social service organizations working in the sector • cost and coverage of common eye care services such as an eye exam, cataract surgery, and spectacles The study was initially conducted in 7 Central American countries in 2004, then in 10 South American countries in 2008, and now again in Central America in 2009. Key stakeholders provided key informant interviews where governmental data did not exist. Study participants created consensus on strategic lines of action and priority objectives at the country and regional level at Forums for Visual Health, held in El Salvador in September 2004 and July 2009 and in Bogota, Colombia, in November 2008. The Visionary – Fall 2009 • Page 8