Participants during the workshop in preparation for the national visual impairment survey.
Doha: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), in collaboration with the Primary Healthcare Corporation (PHCC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), recently organised a workshop in preparation for the national visual impairment and blindness survey in Qatar.
The survey adopts an integrated system that includes the training of the research team, data collection and analysis, and covers a sample of 5,000 people aged 50 years or above, as most blindness cases have been confirmed to occur in this age group. The survey is scheduled to begin on May 22.
The survey includes training provided by WHO ophthalmology consultant to the workshop participants of ophthalmologists, opticians, and nurses of health centres. The training will focus on the national survey mechanism to detect vision impairment and blindness and the use of the latest version of the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB7) survey in data entry. The training will also feature a field visit on the third and fifth days of the workshop to the health centres participating in the survey to conduct examinations on a sample of patients.
MoPH Director of Public Health Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani said despite the medical and scientific development in the field of ophthalmology, some eye diseases continue to pose a threat to eyesight. In this context the MoPH, in cooperation with HMC and the PHCC institutions, seeks to promote the level of ophthalmology services in Qatar to match the best international levels.
The MoPH is also implementing the national survey on vision impairment and blindness in collaboration with the PHCC and the WHO to assess the prevalence and causes of vision impairment.
