Background: Studies have reported unmet health needs in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). This study illustrated and analysed patterns of healthcare services utilization among people with intellectual disability and compared their use to that of the general population. Method: Participants (N = 791, aged 15-82) were mainly recruited…

A model Center of Excellence in Low Vision and Vision Rehabilitation was created in a health care setting in China utilizing an inter-institutional relationship with a United States optometric institution. Accomplishments of, limitations to, and stimuli to the provision of low vision and vision rehabilitation services are shared.

The VARK learning style is a pedagogical focus in health care education. This study examines relationships of course performance vs. VARK learning preference, study time, and career plan among students enrolled in an undergraduate anatomy and physiology course at a large urban university. Students (n?=?492) from the fall semester course completed…

Annual health checks for people with learning disabilities are a concept that was introduced by the Government in 2001 as a catalyst to improve access to health services and identify health needs that have previously gone undetected. Nonetheless, to date, there has been little evidence of the effectiveness of these health checks. This study seeks…

Learning to counsel patients in a teaching clinic or hospital occurs in the presence of the competing agendas of patient care and student education. We wondered about the challenges that these tensions create for clinical novices learning to deliver bad news to patients. In this preliminary study, we audio-taped and transcribed the interviews of…

Synopses of the state of optometry and optometric education in nine foreign countries (Germany, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, and Sweden) look at training programs, licensing, facilities, and alternatives in optometric services. (MSE)

Examines optometric education and training in developing nations, especially in Africa where the need for eye care has driven many non-optometrists into eye care delivery. Suggests that a system allowing multiple entry and exit points en route to becoming an optometrist provides a range of service delivery options that make best use of personnel…

Twenty-nine Alabama optometric practices were studied using an optometrist survey, one-week patient flow analysis, and audit of patient records. Results indicate some special facets of the rural practices that may require a different kind of educational preparation. (MSE)

Economic demand analysis is used to examine optometric personnel supply and demand and the potential for a glut or undersupply of eye care services in the near future. (MSE)

An opportunity exists for the Veterans Administration, Association of Schools of Optometry, and American Optometric Association to establish a large-scale affiliated optometric education system, enhancing optometric care, education, and clinical research opportunities. These agencies can develop an efficient, cost-effective national model for eye…

Using several assumptions about the supply, productivity, and use of optometrists in Puerto Rico to 2000, several possible supply-demand situations are projected. The role of the Inter American University in these situations is discussed, based on graduates' probable practice locations and the school's program design. (MSE)

Issues in future health care delivery include the aging American population, rapidly rising costs, the shifting of control of health care from providers to consumers, decentralization of care, technological change, and rapid expansion of knowledge. These will have great effect on patients, health care providers, third-party payors, and curriculum.…

The subject of health policy and its influence on patients and providers is explored with an emphasis on an interprofessional consortium, devoted to representing the consumer constituency. Expanded involvement and expenditures by the federal government in the health care field are discussed and the need for regulatory reform is described.…

The Veterans Administration (VA) is a primary educator of optometry students, with each college of optometry being affiliated with at least one VA hospital. Ideally, fourth-year optometry students rotate through a specific VA facility for about 12 weeks. Guidelines are designed to provide optimum care in a rich learning environment. (MSE)

A discussion of current changes in optometry looks at the expanding for-profit health sector, changing student characteristics and enrollment patterns, the changing scope of optometric care and technology, and the demise of professionalism and ethics. Implications for pharmaceutical education are considered. (MSE)