Question:
Give an approximate % estimate of the prevalence of myopia in your practice in children 12-13 years of age. With reference to information given in the following presentation/topc, comment on what you consider to be contributory factors to your estimate under the headings of geographical area (i.e. urban, suburban and rural), population density, typical educational provision and ethnicity.
Assignment format and instructions: please read carefully.
Assignment are designed to test your assimilation and comprehension of the lesson and its associated reference sources. They generally take the form of direct questions or the raising of particular issues pertinent to topics covered by a lesson. As an approximation, the length of the response to each assignment should be of the order of 500-600 words plus any Tabular/Graphical data and supporting literature (i.e. relevant Journal/Book Chapter references). The word limit is intended to encourage clarity and succinctness in responses to it but will appreciate that individuals may occasionally exceed significantly the specification for length.
As assignments will be diverse in nature the content of responses will vary and hence there is no standardized layout. However, the responses to assignment must be supported by evidence that has been presented in the respective lesson and/or Journal articles and Book Chapters. The evidence may be supplemented, where appropriate, by evidence (or data) that you have obtained from either your own clinical experience or additional literature searches.
It is essential that a formal list of supporting reference material is provided at the end of each assignment and cited/numbered.
The referencing system adopted should follow that currently used by the College of Optometrist’s academic journal Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics i.e. the ‘Vancouver’ system (note that the OPO referencing format changed in 2011 from the previous ‘Harvard’ system).
Below is an example of the reference format to use (taken from the Introduction to Logan et al OPO 2011.
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‘Myopia is a condition that affects approximately 1 in 6 of the world’s population1 and has reached epidemic proportions in some industrialized East Asian societies (e.g. Singapore), where 70% or more of young adolescents are myopic.2 The impact of these levels of myopia on all areas of society is enormous and authorities in these countries include myopia in their educational, health and economic strategic plans (www.hpb.gov.sg/). Myopia interferes significantly with normal visual function, ranging from a simple visual hindrance to a precursor for secondary pathologies’.3
References
- Norton TT, Manny R, & O’Leary DJ. Myopia-Global Problem, Global Research. Optom Vis Sci 2005; 82: 223-225.
- Seet B, Wong TY, Tan DT et al. Myopia in Singapore: taking a public health approach. Br J Ophthalmol 2001; 85: 521-526.
- Gilmartin B. Myopia: precedents for research in the twenty-first century. Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2004; 32: 305-24.
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The key elements of completed assignment will be that they are succinct, comprehensive and relevant to the question or issue raised – especially welcome (and valuable) is reference, where appropriate, to your own experiences in clinical practice.