Volume FIVE, Issue ONE Quarter ONE, 2010
electronic bulletin
Eye screenings for children in Yerevan
IN THIS ISSUE One day on the Mobile Eye Hospital
Data analysis & research in the region of lori According to the AECP doctors’ approximation, 10-15% of screened children in Yerevan are registered with eye problems. At the same time, the AECP statistical estimate for the country is 8.7%.
Narek has started wearing eyeglasses only recently. At the beginning it was unusual, sometimes, even distressing. The boy felt embarrassed, since was afraid that his kindergarten friends would make fun of him. He was pleasantly surprised when his peers accepted him absolutely normally. In fact, it was comforting to discover that there was nothing scary in wearing eyeglasses at all. As Narek’s nurse, Mrs. Hrush, told us, the boy has started only recently to communicate with his peers at a full scope. He was timid and shy, and the reason for that was the low vision, as discovered later on. Narek’s mother, Ani, said that it was difficult for her to understand why her child watched television from a close distance and frequently demonstrated unstable coordination in movements. All this
was misleadingly ascribed to Narek’s character. Things started to change when the ophthalmologists of the Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) visited Narek’s kindergarten. The screening identified refraction problems with the boy. The AECP doctors prescribed and prepared free-of-charge eye glasses for him. After wearing them for a while, the staff of the kindergarten and Narek’s parents noticed substantial positive advances in his behavior. According to the approximation of the AECP doctors, 10-15% of children screened in Yerevan are registered as having eye problems. At the same time, the AECP statistical estimate for the entire country of Armenia is 8.7%. All children attending schools and
kindergartens undergo a number of officially established medical checkups against different diseases and infections. Schools and kindergartens usually have health points with nurses functioning locally. According to the state norms in Armenia, every 400 children should be attended by a nurse or a medical representative, who has to assure adequate health and safety conditions and direct communication with correspondent health bodies when required. Eye care is classified under the category when only general examination and advisory are possible, as admitted by the local medical personnel. Perhaps, this is the reason why the percentage of children identified with eye problems for the first time is in the range
THE AECP LAUNCHES A NEW PROGRAM on Retinopathy of Prematurity in Armenia The gift of sight
notes from the field
continued on page 2 >>>
bringing
sight
to armenian eyes the armenian eyecare project aygestan 5, house 7 yerevan, armenia phone (374 10) 55 90 68 fax (374 10) 57 76 94 aecp@cornet.am
p.o. box 5630 newport beach, ca 92662 phone 949.675.5767 fax 949 673.2356 aecp@eyecareproject.com
Founded in 1992, in the United States by an American-Armenian ophthalmologist Roger Ohanesian, M.D., the Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) is a California based nonprofit corporation dedicated to the elimination of preventable blindness in Armenia. In 2003, the AECP established an office in Yerevan and launched its program “Bringing Sight to Armenian Eyes.” The Initiative has five comprehensive, integrated components developed to eliminate preventable blindness. They include direct patient care, medical education and training, public education, research and capacity building. More than 240,000 people have been screened and over 10,000 sight-saving surgeries and laser trea ments have been performed in the Mobile Eye Hospital. The AECP has been a USAID partner since 2004.
www.eyecareproject.com This publication was made possible with the support of the American People through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.