Abstract
In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) set eye health as a priority by creating the “Universal Eye Health: A Global Action Plan 2014-2019.” The WHO’s reasoning is intuitive; poor visual health can impair quality of life in a number of ways- by limiting physical activity, causing emotional health problems, and damaging work performance. In India, 55 million people suffer from presbyopia (the degeneration of sight related to age). Apart from the large-scale negative impact on quality of life, untreated visual impairments including presbyopia, are estimated to cost the Indian economy $37 billion in productivity losses annually. In this study, we aim to explore the effects of addressing presbyopia among workers in the context of the readymade garment industry in India. We will screen workers and provide eyeglasses to those with a presbyopic refractive error. We will explore adherence to eyeglasses, the effects on productivity, and the retention of such workers.
To do so, we propose a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) in India which will: 1) measure adherence to eyeglasses; 2) observe the impact of glasses wear on productivity and attrition rate among these workers.