Sabherwal Shalinder, Nayab Javed, Mazumdar Atanu, Thaker Nam, Javed Mohd, Nathawat Rakhi, Bastawrous Andrew
Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, Delhi, India.
International Centre for Eye Health, Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Apr 22;25(1):1495. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22278-2.
There is an enormous unmet need for near vision correction with glasses. The cost and lack of felt need are important barriers. This study, which was conducted among a rural population of northern India, was designed to assess whether the short-term use of a pair of near-vision glasses can increase the desirability for individuals to procure subsequent pairs and to further assess the willingness to pay thresholds.
This study followed a quasi-experimental design. Uncorrected presbyopes were given near vision glasses at their doorstep, to carry out their chosen near work task for half- an- hour (this use of glasses was referred to as 'experience' for the purpose of this study). They were then referred to nearby vision centres to procure glasses. This 'experience' given was used as a proxy for having used the first pair. At the vision centre, glasses were offered at no cost, for Indian Rupees 75 (US$0.90) and for Indian Rupees 100 (US$1.20) in the first, second and third phases of the study, respectively. The usual price at which near-vision glasses were otherwise available in the region was Indian Rupees150 (US$1.8). The uptake of glasses after having received the near correction experience was tracked via the Peek Vision platform.
The most preferred chosen near work task by the study participants were stitching, after threading the needle and using a mobile phone. The uptake of near-vision glasses from the vision centre after providing the desired experience was 81.4% (835/1,026), 48.3% (699/1,446) and 29.2% (93/318) when the glasses were provided free of cost, at $0.90 and at $1.20 respectively. The difference between these three phases was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Uptake was found to be increase with need for increasing lens power (p < 0.01) and especially among those who reported the 'experience' as 'very good' or 'excellent'(p < 0.001). Uptake decreased with increasing age (p < 0.01). Differences in uptake between sexes and between those with or without the availability of a mode of transport in their household were not found to be significant.
Having experience with the first pair of near-vision glasses can increase desirability of procuring subsequent pairs. Offering the second pair at a reduced price can increase the uptake substantially in this setting, suggesting that active outreach to correct near vision in tandem with accessible and affordable marketplaces for reading glasses could provide a viable solution to scale near vision correction.
对于近视力矫正眼镜存在着巨大的未满足需求。成本和缺乏需求意识是重要障碍。本研究在印度北部农村人口中开展，旨在评估短期佩戴一副近视力眼镜是否会增加个体购买后续眼镜的意愿，并进一步评估支付意愿阈值。
本研究采用准实验设计。未矫正的老花眼患者在家门口获赠近视力眼镜，用于进行他们选择的近工作任务半小时（在本研究中，这种眼镜的使用被称为“体验”）。然后他们被转介到附近的视力中心购买眼镜。所给予的这种“体验”被用作使用过第一副眼镜的替代。在视力中心，在研究的第一、第二和第三阶段，分别免费提供眼镜、以75印度卢比（0.90美元）和100印度卢比（1.20美元）的价格提供眼镜。该地区近视力眼镜的通常价格为150印度卢比（1.8美元）。通过Peek Vision平台追踪接受近视力矫正体验后眼镜的购买情况。
研究参与者最常选择的近工作任务是穿针后缝纫和使用手机。在提供期望体验后，当免费提供眼镜、以0.90美元和1.20美元的价格提供眼镜时，视力中心近视力眼镜的购买率分别为81.4%（835/1026）、48.3%（699/1446）和29.2%（93/318）。这三个阶段之间的差异具有统计学意义（p<0.001）。发现购买率随着镜片度数需求的增加而增加（p<0.01），尤其是在那些将“体验”报告为“非常好”或“优秀”的人群中（p<0.001）。购买率随着年龄的增加而降低（p<0.01）。未发现性别之间以及家庭中有无交通工具的人群之间购买率的差异具有显著性。
有过第一副近视力眼镜的使用体验可以增加购买后续眼镜的意愿。在这种情况下，以较低价格提供第二副眼镜可以大幅提高购买率，这表明积极推广近视力矫正并结合可及且价格合理的老花镜市场，可能为扩大近视力矫正规模提供可行的解决方案。
