WCO survey reveals global challenges of optometry profession
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Key takeaways:
- On average, one optometrist serves 23,200 patients.
- Of the countries surveyed, 33% do not regulate minimum education requirements for optometrists.
Several countries face an inadequate number of optometrists, unregulated education levels for optometrists and restrictions on optometric procedures, according to a study published in Clinical Optometry.
“This survey is unique in highlighting the global variations in the scope of optometry practice from the perspective of the WCO Competency Framework for Optometry,” lead study author Yazan Gammoh, PhD, chair of the WCO education committee, said in a World Council of Optometry press release.
In the survey-based cross-sectional study, researchers examined members of the WCO in 39 countries from 2022 to 2023 to gather demographic information about the profession of optometry.
The average ratio of men vs. women practicing optometry is 45% to 55%, with high-income countries having a higher female workforce. Fifty-four percent of optometrists are older than 45 years, but the workforce is younger in Latin American and Caribbean countries, with 57% of optometrists younger than 45 years.
On average, one optometrist serves 23,200 patients across all countries, with only 46% of countries meeting the 1:10,000 optometrist-to-population ratio that developed countries have; 92% of high-income countries meet this ratio.
In France, Portugal, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe,
Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Guyana, the use of the title “optometrist” is not protected, and in 33% of countries, tertiary education at a bachelor degree level or higher is not required to become an optometrist. Further, 33% of countries do not require optometrists to renew their license or registration, and 41% of countries do not require continuing education hours to renew an optometry license.
Of note, in France optometry is not recognized as a profession, with eye care a collaborative effort between ophthalmologists and orthoptists, and opticians dispensing eye wear.
In terms of scope of practice, 26% of countries prohibit optometrists from performing remote refraction, while cycloplegic agent use is prohibited in five countries. France is the only responding country to restrict the assessment and management of strabismus and amblyopia. Diagnostic pharmaceutical agents are prohibited in eight countries, and 38% of countries prohibit optometric use of punctal plugs.
“The results obtained from this study are expected to assist policy makers and stakeholders in fulfilling the World Health Organization’s call for optometry services to provide people-centered eye care through evidence-based information,” Gammoh and colleagues wrote in the study.
According to the WCO press release, these results may also inform the recently launched WHO SPECS 2030 initiative, which seeks to assist countries in generating a 40% increase in the proportion of people with access to spectacles.
Reference:
- Newly published “2023 Global Survey of Optometry” conducted by the World Council of Optometry (WCO). https://worldcouncilofoptometry.info/news-release-newly-published-2023-global-survey-of-optometry-conducted-by-the-world-council-of-optometry-wco/. Published Sept. 24, 2024. Accessed Sept. 27, 2024.
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