Opportunities and threats to contact lens practice in Spain

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: An international survey evaluated the opportunities and threats related to contact lens practice reported by eye care professionals worldwide. This study reports on the results specifically found in Spain and how these compare with those from other regions of the world. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed to eye care practitioners around the world through professional associations. The questionnaire consisted of 9, 5 and 12 questions about opportunities, interventions, and potential threats related to contact lens practice, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 2,408 responses were obtained from practitioners worldwide, of which 436 responses were obtained from Spanish practitioners. Spain was found among the regions with the highest perception of opportunities (median: 6.5/10) along with Australasia, North America, Europe, and South America. Spanish (median: 7.3/10), along with South American practitioners, also reported the highest perception of threats. Continuously updating of knowledge/skills, recommending contact lens wearing options to potential patients, creating an efficient recall system for follow-up examinations and being competent in managing contact lens-related complications were reported as important interventions for contact lens practice growth by Spanish eye care practitioners. CONCLUSIONS: Spain is one of the regions in the world with the highest perception of both opportunities and threats regarding future contact lens practice. As such, Spanish practitioners consider it important to continuously update knowledge/skills and to recommend and educate patients on the benefits of contact lens wear. Online sales were found to be one of the most important concerns reported by both Spanish and eye care practitioners worldwide.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optom.2022.06.002
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Optometry & Vision Science Research Group (OVSRG)
College of Health & Life Sciences
College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Optometry
Additional Information: © 2022 Spanish General Council of Optometry. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Publication ISSN: 1989-1342
Last Modified: 28 Mar 2024 08:20
Date Deposited: 25 Jul 2022 10:30
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2022-07-09
Published Online Date: 2022-07-09
Accepted Date: 2022-07-01
Authors: Martínez-Pérez, Clara
Villa-Collar, César
Santodomingo-Rubido, Jacinto
Shinde, Lakshmi
Thite, Nilesh
Wolffsohn, James S (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-4673-8927)

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