Department of Optometry, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2024 Jan 16;16(1):e1-e10. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v16i1.4140.
The role of an optometrist as defined by the World Council of Optometry includes the management of ocular diseases. In 2015, the scope of optometry in South Africa was expanded to include ocular therapeutic drugs. To date approximately 27 optometrists have obtained full certification to exercise ocular therapeutic privileges.
This study aimed to determine the interest, readiness, as well as challenges, of optometrists for the inclusion of ocular therapeutics into daily practice.
The study was set in South Africa.
A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was employed. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 420 participants from a study population of optometrists registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, with data collected using an online questionnaire hosted on social media platforms and distributed by professional organisations. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 27.
The majority of respondents (73.3%) reported keenness for ocular therapeutics certification. While 75.7% of respondents had obtained diagnostics certification, only 9.5% were registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) with ocular therapeutics certification. Most (92.1%) respondents reported the required minimum of 600 h of clinical training as a major challenge to obtaining ocular therapeutics certification. Almost all (96.9%) of the respondents agreed that ocular therapeutics certification will improve provision of optimal eyecare.
South African optometrists support and are personally interested in ocular therapeutics certification. However, while there is a preponderance of diagnostically qualified optometrists, very few are certified for ocular therapeutics with completion of the required clinical training for certification perceived as the greatest challenge.Contribution: This findings in this study highlight that, current requirements to support ocular therapeutics certification of South African optometrists should be reviewed to ensure an enabling environment for the completion of the clinical training.
世界视光师理事会对视光师的定义包括眼部疾病的管理。2015 年，南非视光师的范围扩大到包括眼部治疗药物。迄今为止，大约有 27 名视光师获得了全面认证，可以行使眼部治疗特权。
本研究旨在确定视光师对将眼部治疗纳入日常实践的兴趣、准备情况和挑战。
该研究在南非进行。
采用描述性、横断面研究设计。便利抽样法招募了来自南非健康职业委员会注册的视光师研究人群中的 420 名参与者，使用在线问卷在社交媒体平台上收集数据，并由专业组织分发。使用社会科学统计软件包 27 版分析数据。
大多数受访者（73.3%）报告对眼部治疗认证有兴趣。虽然 75.7%的受访者已获得诊断学认证，但只有 9.5%的受访者在南非健康职业委员会（HPCSA）注册并获得眼部治疗认证。大多数（92.1%）受访者报告所需的 600 小时临床培训是获得眼部治疗认证的主要挑战。几乎所有（96.9%）的受访者都同意，眼部治疗认证将改善最佳眼科护理的提供。
南非视光师支持并对眼部治疗认证感兴趣。然而，尽管有大量具备诊断能力的视光师，但只有极少数人获得眼部治疗认证，完成认证所需的临床培训被认为是最大的挑战。
本研究的结果表明，应审查当前支持南非视光师眼部治疗认证的要求，以确保为完成临床培训创造有利环境。
