Less then half of the nations surveyed as part of a 2023 global survey of optometry met the recommended ratio of one optometrist per 10,000 people.
The survey, conducted by the World Council of Optometry (WCO) and released in August 2024, investigated the optometric demographics within WCO member countries and information related to the scope of practice and legislation.
It also showed that in the 39 countries polled, one optometrist serves 23,200 persons on average, with just 46.2% of those meeting the recommended ratio.
Australia was one of those countries to meet its ratio, with each of its 6785 optometrists serving 3897 people, according to the survey.
Additionally, 33% of countries surveyed do not regulate minimum levels of education for entry-level optometric practitioners, 20% limit the use of diagnostic drugs, and 25% limit the use of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents.
The study was made possible through sponsorships from EssilorLuxottica and Johnson & Johnson.
The 39 countries surveyed were WCO Country Members during the 2022-2023 membership period. Each member organisation’s leadership identified key informants for the survey.
“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,” said Dr Yazan Gammoh, chair of the WCO Education Committee and lead author of the study.
The results obtained from this study are expected to assist policymakers and stakeholders in fulfilling the World Health Organisation’s call for optometry services to provide people-centred eye care through evidence-based information.
They may also inform the recently launched WHO SPECS 2030 initiative, which envisions a world in which everyone needing a refractive error intervention has access to quality, affordable, and people-centred refractive error services.
As primary eyecare providers, optometrists must be active participants in such efforts to address preventable vision impairment worldwide.
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