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Transitions to release best practices guide for improving patient care to minorities
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Transitions Optical said in a press release that certain ethnic populations are at a greater risk for many health issues including diabetes and hypertension; to combat this, the company hosted a roundtable to discuss increasing patient education and will publish a paper to improve primary care to these groups.
Strategies for better practice management and patient education will be published in the consensus paper at mymulticulturaltoolkit.com, a site aimed at educating the eye care professional community in meeting the needs of ethnic diverse populations.
The roundtable event, held in Miami on July 14, was attended by representatives from multiple professions with at-risk patients, including: Neyal Ammary-Risch, MPH, MCHES, director, National Eye Health Education Program, National Eye Institute; Mila and Jimmy Ferrer, bloggers and co-founders of Familias con Diabetes; Margo LaDrew, national board member, National Council of Negro Women and co-founder, Black Beauty Shop Program; Edwin Marshall, OD, MS, MPH, professor emeritus of optometry and former vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs, Indiana University; Charlotte Parniawski, RN, MSN, CNE, nurse educator, Bridgeport Hospital School of Nursing; Diane Sheehan, APRN, nurse practitioner, Northeast Medical Group, Yale New Haven Health System, Bridgeport, Conn.; Dan Suarez, president-elect, National Association of Hispanic Nurses; and Vincent K. Young, MD, chairman, Division of Ophthalmology, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia.
Participants reviewed overall health issues common among culturally diverse groups and shared best practices and case studies for elevating eye health while facing challenges such as low patient awareness, language barriers or cultural considerations for care, according the press release.