Taking ideas from the hint box, together with your own ideas, write a newspaper
article in about 150 words on "Preventing Corneal Blindness".
HINTS:
10 million people waiting for corneal transplant in India, highest in the world.
• Corneal blindness mostly affects children.
• Importance of nutrition and supplement for children below 6 years.
• Prevent eye-injury.
• Corneal grafting from-donated eyes is the only treatment.
• Make eye donation a family tradition.
Answers
Preventing corneal blindness in the community involves action by the community itself, as well as actions by government and non-governmental organisations in the form of health and development services. In order to be effective, eye health workers need to understand how all of the above can work together.
- Primary prevention: Actions or interventions taken to prevent the onset of disease
- Secondary prevention: Actions taken to prevent complications and/or the development of visual disability due to an existing disease
- Tertiary prevention: After the immediate problem has been addressed by surgery or other treatment, actions to restore function or reduce existing disability from disease complications, i.e. corneal transplantation
- Right up to the point when someone is seen by an eye care worker or admitted to hospital, the community will influence what happens.
Consider ophthalmia neonatorum as an example. As an eye care worker, you may have little control over the following:
the risk factors and immediate medical causes, e.g. parents' sexual behaviour and the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoea
the contributory and social factors, e.g. the lack of antibiotic drops in the labour ward, poverty associated with dangerous work, poor access to water and sanitation, or a community's preference for traditional medicines.
However, the community has the potential to influence most of these factors, either through change in the behaviour of individuals, or by lobbying for improvements at the community level.
Answer:
Preventing corneal blindness in the community involves action by the community itself, as well as actions by government and non-governmental organisations in the form of health and development services. In order to be effective, eye health workers need to understand how all of the above can work together.
Prevention of corneal blindness takes place at three levels:
Primary prevention: Actions or interventions taken to prevent the onset of disease
Secondary prevention: Actions taken to prevent complications and/or the development of visual disability due to an existing disease
Tertiary prevention: After the immediate problem has been addressed by surgery or other treatment, actions to restore function or reduce existing disability from disease complications, i.e. corneal transplantation (see page 44).
Right up to the point when someone is seen by an eye care worker or admitted to hospital, the community will influence what happens.
Consider ophthalmia neonatorum as an example. As an eye care worker, you may have little control over the following:
the risk factors and immediate medical causes, e.g. parents' sexual behaviour and the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoea
the contributory and social factors, e.g. the lack of antibiotic drops in the labour ward, poverty associated with dangerous work, poor access to water and sanitation, or a community's preference for traditional medicines.
However, the community has the potential to influence most of these factors, either through change in the behaviour of individuals, or by lobbying for improvements at the community level.