O=MEGA23/WCO4: Exploring the latest in myopia control efficacy part of rich and diverse program
As we approach Myopia Awareness Week, taking place from 22-26 May, the eye health sector is urged to ensure myopia management is essential to child eye health. With the prevalence of myopia increasing rapidly and projections indicating that by 2050, 50% of the world’s population will be myopic, with uncorrected myopia and high myopia a leading cause of blindness worldwide, the topic is of critical importance to the optometric profession.
O=MEGA23, in partnership with the 4th World Congress of Optometry (WCO), will be held in Melbourne in September and will feature the latest research and updates across several presentations about myopia management and myopia control as part of its rich and diverse conference program.
Husband and wife optometrist team Drs Paul and Kate Gifford, and founders of Myopia Profile, the international go-to information resource on clinical myopia management, will be presenting on ‘Unanswered questions in myopia management’.
Dr Kate Gifford said, “There is a professional obligation to provide myopia management as standard of care for young patients, and an expanding volume of scientific literature on efficacy, safety and benefits of myopia treatments. There are still important scientific questions, though, which have substantial implications for enabling myopia management in clinical practice.
“Our presentation will outline the latest research on the knowns and the unknowns for several unanswered questions in myopia management. The knowns will be translated into actionable clinical advice and management pathways, and the unknowns detailed to support practitioner communication.”
Major Platinum sponsor of O=MEGA23, CooperVision, is sponsoring the attendance of plenary speaker Professor Mark Bullimore. Joe Tanner, CooperVision Professional Services Manager, commented, “Mark is an internationally renowned scientist, speaker and educator and has become one of the most important figures in helping the eye care professions understand child myopia and its management.
“At O=MEGA23/WCO4, Mark will share further important insights on myopia management, particularly in the context of local practice where the opportunity to greatly limit the adverse effects of high myopia is larger than in many other countries.”
The bi-annual O=MEGA event is the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere, while the World Congress of Optometry is an international event hosted in a different city across the world also on a bi-annual basis. This partnership is a unique alignment and rare opportunity to combine a national and international audience to create the largest optometry conference in the country.
https://www.omega-event.org/program
Media contact, Australia:
Trinity Scarf – +61 413 581 769 – t.scarf@optometry.org.au
About the World Council of Optometry
The World Council of Optometry (WCO) is an international membership-based non-profit organization for individual optometrists, industry professionals and optometric organizations that envisions a world where optometry makes high quality eye health and vision care accessible to all people. Its mission is to facilitate the development of optometry around the world and support optometrists in promoting eye health and vision care as a human right through advocacy, education, policy development and humanitarian outreach. To learn more, please visit www.worldoptometry.org.
About Optometry Victoria South Australia
Optometry Victoria South Australia (OV/SA) is the professional association for optometrists in Victoria and South Australia. Our mission is to advance and promote the profession of optometry, and to provide our members with the resources, tools, and support they need to deliver high-quality eye care to their patients. Find information, updates, and events at www.optometry.org.au
