Masterclass in choldhood myopia management

Run by the UM’s Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, the two-day interactive course will provide practical insight into contporary myopia managent from experienced researchers and clinicians.The program, coordinated by Dr Laura Downie, will involve a combination of lectures, case scenarios, collaborative discussions and workshops. It will also include a practical, clinic-based session to provide a hands-on experience with orthokeratology contact lens fitting.The course is especially timely, given research presented as recently as last month’s ARVO-Asia conference in Brisbane confirmed a clear increase in the prevalence of myopia worldwide from around 1970 onwards.Multiple studies that have investigated this trend – including Rose et al., 2008 and more recently Mani, Adam et al., 2017 – have linked time spent indoors with aberrant over-growth of the eye, and Australian children were again ranked as some of the least active in the world in the 2016 Active Healthy Kids Australia Report Card.The course will take place from June 17-18 at the UM Parkville campus and costs $990 for registration on or before May 1, and $1,320 thereafter.