Point of View - The Optometrist

Idor De Simone optician optometrist at Maugeri Scientific - Clinical Institutes Contactologist www.facebook.com/idordesimone/

VISION AND SOCIAL WELFARE

Vision is certainly an element of great importance in people’s quality of life. The collaboration between the different professionals involved in the “vision take care” could be the key to get the best possible care. We talk about it with Idor De Simone, Ph.D. in Visual Sciences, Optometrist, Master in Clinical Neuroscience and Contactologist.

VISION & SOCIAL WELFARE: IN THE WORLD…

- There are about 39 million blind people and about 1 billion people with various visual impairments, mostly shortsighted. - Of these, 12 million children have a visual impairment due to refractive errors. - The costs of covering refractive errors are estimated at $14.3 billion. - It is estimated that by 2050 half of the world’s population could be myopic, with the highest prevalence in East Asia including China, Japan and Singapore. - People who see badly double the probability of falls and accidents with severe trauma damage. - Severe visual deficits are associated with depressive and anxious forms. - Visual deficits that lead to low vision result in home care that generates high costs.

Dr. De Simone, the importance of the vision on social welfare is a widely shared fact. What is the relationship between vision and impact on quality of life?

Bad Vision affects the health, economic well-being and productivity of people, families, and society. Suffice it to say, in this regard, that the loss of vision causes an 83% reduction in opportunities for relationships with the outside world and plunges the person into total isolation...

What is the role of prevention and re-education in this area?

Prevention and visual re-education are the basis of the protection of the visual system. It is for these fundamental reasons that Opticians and Optometrists must have a high training and preparation. Taking care of the Person in relation to different visual needs, carried out in synergy with other vision professionals, will allow us to meet the emerging needs. With this premise, we will start a series of interventions in collaboration with Vedere, to deepen issues related to Vision Science, with the awareness that only by working as a team we can raise our level of preparation to ensure a better visual well-being.

You spoke a little while ago about Person. Not patient, not client... What is the value of this term, Person, in your vision? Why this term?

I refer to the philosophical concept of Person, transmitted to us by the ancients, which expresses the singularity of everyone. Every individual is endowed with a precious intrinsic value, dignity, which we must always recognize in every person we meet. Human dignity transcends any kind of difference and makes us all equal. And - in this regard - I cannot fail to mention the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ratified by Italy in 2009) which recognizes and promotes the protection of human rights by ensuring equal rights and equal opportunities.

Dear dr. De Simone, thank you for your important contribution. We are sure that creating knowledge and broadening cultural perspectives in the field of optics can only be a positive thing. We look forward to your next appointments. See you soon!