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Optometry is a relatively new field in eye care in Ghana.
Optometry is a new field in the eye care system of Ghana.[ citation needed ] The Eye Secretariat of Ghana is the Ghana Ministry of Health agency concerned with eye care in the country. Ghana's first optometrist, Dr. Francis Kojovi Morny, [1] is regarded[ by whom? ] as a key contributor to theme development of optometry there. Dr. Morny was trained in Nigeria, and returned to practice optometry after his training. He was the main brain behind the set-up of the Department of Optometry in University of Cape Coast to offer the Doctor of Optometry program and was also a senior lecturer in the department. He also served as a lecturer in KNUST when the program began.
The first optometry school in Ghana started in the KNUST Department of Physics in 1992. [2] The first class had just five students and was instructed by Dr. Morny. It initially offered only postgraduate degrees, but soon also offered bachelor's degrees. In 2004, just as the first batch of optometrists with the bachelor's degrees had graduated, they were enrolled for the two-year Doctor of Optometry (O.D) program. In 2002, the University of Cape Coast also began a Doctor of Optometry program.[ citation needed ]
Over eighty percent of Ghanaian optometrists receive their training from the KNUST. In 2011, fifty-three and about sixteen students entered KNUST and UCC department of Optometry, respectively. Professor Angela O. Amedo, one of the first optometrists in Ghana, is the Head of Department for Optometry at KNUST. There are about 200 optometrists in Ghana. [2]
The newly graduated optometrists are inducted into the Ghana Optometric Association so they can do their one-year internship at any of the Ministry of Health Hospitals or accredited eye clinics throughout the country. After their internship, they are required to write their qualifying exam which upon passing will allow the optometrist to practice without supervision. For a place to qualify to house new optometrists during their internship, there should be an optometrist or ophthalmologist working at the facility. Some of the places where new optometrists work in Ghana are:
The Ghana Optometric Association (GOA) is the country's governing body for the optometry profession. Since 2009 all optometrists wanting to be members have had to write a professional exam. Passing this exam gives the optometrist the certification to practice in Ghana. As of March 2010, GOA had 139 members. [3] Today[ when? ] the group has about 200 members. In 2010 the body and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology's Faculty of Distance Learning [4] rolled out a two-year programme to offer all members of GOA who did not have the Doctor of Optometry degree to enroll for it. The aim of the programme is to ensure that by the end of 2012 all optometrists in Ghana will have the O.D degree as is required under the Ministry of Health.
It is headed by DSP/Dr. Remi Ninkpe as President of GOA. Dr. Paa Kwesi Fynn Hope is the Secretary.
The GOA has done a lot since its inception. Apart from regulating the activities of optometrists countrywide, it also looks out for the well-being of its members in ways such as:
One of the major achievements of GOA was hosting the World Council of Optometry (WCO) General Delegates meeting in Accra from 6 to 10 April 2005. It was the first time the meeting was held in Africa.
The Ghana Optometric Association did so in collaboration with the Africa Council of Optometry with sponsorship from Essilor International. It was attended by about 200 delegates from the council. [5]
The Ministry of Health through its hospitals and health facilities is the main provider of eye care services in the country. Over the years it has taken various initiates to train optometrists through the various universities. It is its aim to ensure that there is at least one functioning eye unit in every district of the country. So far the number of facilities is woefully inadequate to serve the needs of those who need such services. The MOH is still doing its best to lift the practice of optometry in Ghana. At the 2010 induction ceremony for new Optometrist it promised to help regulate the activities of optometrists more [3] The situation would have been far worse if the various eye care facilities of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) were not functioning. Thirty-five percent of Ghana's health service provision is done by CHAG. As and when new district eye centre are created, an optometrist is posted there to attend to the district's eye care needs. It must be stated that to date, the MOH is the biggest employer of optometrists in the country and the MOH deems with all seriousness the role they play in helping to save the sight of Ghanaians.
As the average Ghanaian becomes more enlightened concerning the eye and its conditions, optometrists would be required to do more too for their patients. The major concerns that eye patients raise are:
With respect to the above, most optometrists the world over are adapting ICT to help the patient better. With respect to the long wait hours, various electronic medical records (EMRs) are being used. These do away with paper and manual recording of patient data. As such the patient does not need to wait for his or her records before seeing the doctor. EMRs the world over have been shown to reduce doctor-patient interactions by up to three times. Ghanaian optometrists are now turning to the use of EMRs [6] to improve their daily work. Those who are using these EMRs bear witness to this and are continually advocating for the use of EMRs among their colleagues. One of the EMRs in use in Ghana is the Personal Digital Assistant for Eye Clinics (PDAEC). [7]
Concerning patient education, various ICT tools are also being used. They include:
There is no law regulating the practice of optometry in Ghana. Around 20% of people claiming to be optometrists in Ghana either do not have training in the field or "go beyond their scope of operation". [8] A draft optometry bill has been presented to the cabinet, but is yet to be passed. The bill would give the Ghana Optometric Association the authority to regulate the practice of optometry in Ghana.
Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care.
The State University of New York College of Optometry is a public school of optometry in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and was established in 1971 as result of a legislative mandate of New York. It is located in midtown Manhattan in what was originally the Aeolian Building, which was built in 1912 for the Aeolian Company, a piano manufacturer. It is a center for research on vision and the only school of optometry in New York.
Southern College of Optometry is a private college of optometry in Memphis, Tennessee.
Vision therapy (VT), or behavioral optometry, is an umbrella term for alternative medicine treatments using eye exercises, based around the pseudoscientific claim that vision problems are the true underlying cause of learning disabilities, particularly in children. Vision therapy has not been shown to be effective using scientific studies, except for helping with convergence insufficiency. Most claims—for example that the therapy can address neurological, educational, and spatial difficulties—lack supporting evidence. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Academy of Ophthalmology support the use of vision therapy.
The American Optometric Association (AOA), founded in 1898, represents approximately 37,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and para-optometric assistants and technicians in the United States.
An eye care professional (ECP) is an individual who provides a service related to the eyes or vision. It is any healthcare worker involved in eye care, from one with a small amount of post-secondary training to practitioners with a doctoral level of education.
The Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) is a private optometry college in Chicago, Illinois. Graduating approximately 160 optometrists a year, it is the largest optometry college in the United States and is the oldest continually operating educational facility dedicated solely to the teaching of optometrists. The college complex incorporates more than 366,000 square feet (34,000 m2) including an on-site eye care clinic, electronically enhanced lecture center, library, computerized clinical learning equipment, cafeteria, fitness center, and living facilities.
The School of Optometry and Vision Science is one of the professional schools at the University of Waterloo. It is a school within the university's Faculty of Science and is the larger of the two optometry schools in Canada. The School is the only English speaking Optometry School in the country; the Francophone Université de Montréal program operates in Quebec.
Optometry is a health care profession that provides comprehensive eye and vision care, which includes the diagnosis and management of eye diseases.
Marshall B. Ketchum University is a private university focused on graduate programs in healthcare and located in Fullerton, California. MBKU expanded from the Southern California College of Optometry which was founded in 1904. The university was officially established as a multidisciplinary university with the addition of School of PA Studies in 2011 and College of Pharmacy in 2013. Along with Hope International University, the campus bookends the north and south sides of the Cal State Fullerton campus respectively.
The University of California, Berkeley, School of Optometry is an optometry school in the United States. It offers a graduate-level, four-year professional program leading to the Doctor of Optometry degree (OD), and a one-year, ACOE-accredited residency program in clinical optometry specialties. It is also the home department for the multidisciplinary Vision Science Group at the University of California, Berkeley, whose graduate students earn either MS or PhD degrees.
Jacob Kenneth Kofi Kwakye-Maafo, also known as Nana Ohemeng Awere V, is a Ghanaian physician and a surgeon who specialises in Obstetrics and Gynecology and traditional ruler of Assin Nsuta and the chief executive of the West End Hospital, Kumasi. A past president of the Ghana Medical Association, he is an advocate of community health and has helped establish several health centres, rural hospitals and clinics in the Ashanti Region of Ghana notably the Ankaasi Faith Healing Methodist Hospital and the Lake Clinic at Amakom near Lake Bosomtwi. He was a member of the committee set up by the government of Ghana in 2003, tasked with the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana.
The eye care system in Ghana can be said to be one in its infant or growing stages. Today there are less than 300 eye care professionals taking care of the eye needs of over 23 million Ghanaians.
The Department of Optometry at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, is based in Kumasi, Ghana. Its placement is under the College of Science of the university. It is the smallest department of the college with 10 teaching staff and around 210 students
The arrival of the Europeans in 15th century into the then Gold Coast brought Christianity to the land. There were many different cultural groups across the West African region who were practicing different forms of spirituality. As the Europeans explored and took control of parts of the country during the colonial days, so did their religion. Christianity is the religion with the largest following in Ghana. Christian denominations include Catholics, Methodists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Seventh-Day Adventists, Pentecostals, Baptists, Evangelical Charismatics, Latter-day Saints, etc.
The Ghana Optometric Association (GOA) is the professional and regulatory body responsible for the development of the Optometry profession in Ghana.
The Australian College of Optometry (ACO) is a not-for-profit organisation in Australia committed to improving the eye health and well being of Australian communities through innovation, partnership, and leadership in clinical services, research and education. Established in 1940, the ACO delivers public health optometry, vision research and professional education, which together aim to enhance the eye health of communities across Australia.
Susan A. Cotter is a professor of optometry at the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) at Marshall B. Ketchum University where she teaches in the classroom and clinic, works with the residents, and conducts clinical researches. Her scientific work is related to related to clinical management strategies for strabismus, amblyopia, non-strabismic binocular vision disorders, and childhood refractive error.
Eye care in the United Kingdom is available through the National Health Service. Eye care in the community is almost entirely provided by optometrists in private practice. Specialist NHS services are provided from a small number of eye hospitals, and their staff often run clinics in general hospitals in their region.
EyeCarePro Inc. is a digital marketing company focused on helping optometrists in the US and Canada reach patients. The company's CEO is Daniel Rostenne. The company's target audience includes eye care professionals, family practices and corporate groups. Services include client management systems and a variety of web and digital marketing services geared toward eyecare professionals.
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