College of Optometry Acquires Mobile Medical Unit
College of Optometry Acquires Mobile Medical Unit
Maybe you have seen it around town. A thirty-seven
foot mobile medical unit seems out of place against the backdrop of rural
Oklahoma. But that is just where this mobile giant will be going. Green
Country towns throughout Cherokee, Sequoyah, Muskogee, and Adair counties
can expect a visit from the newest eye-care facility from Northeastern
State University College of Optometry.
This state-of-the-art mobile medical unit was made possible by a grant
from the National Eye Institute. Labeled the Vision in Preschoolers (VIP)
Study, the focus of this grant is to provide documented research to determine
whether there are vision screening tests that can accurately predict those
three- and four-year-old children who would benefit from comprehensive
examinations.
The VIP Mobile Medical Unit comes equipped with fold-out partitions that
will enable doctors to create four individual screening rooms in order
to accommodate many children at one time. It also carries the latest instrumentation
to better aid doctors in the upcoming screenings.
Vision problems are the fourth-most prevalent class of disability
in the United States and the most prevalent handicapping condition in
childhood, said Dr. Lynn Cyert, NSU Professor of Optometry and Director
of the VIP Study for NSU. If left untreated, vision problems can
affect the childs basic ability to learn in school. However, if
detected at the preschool age, a vision disorder is easier to correct
and may have less impact on the childs ability to learn. The VIP
study, along with the mobile medical unit, will enable us to reach more
children at this delicate age and hopefully develop early screening procedures
that will benefit childrens vision in the future.
Realizing the critical need for complete vision care for preschool children
six years ago, Dr. Cyert joined a team of nine researchers in the United
States and began developing a grant that would eventually fund an investigation
nationwide into vision screening for three- and four-year-old preschoolers.
This group of researchers, at various universities, colleges of optometry,
and departments of ophthalmology, will undertake an investigation that
is funded for five years by the National Eye Institute, of the National
Institutes of Health.
Six screening tests were selected to identify deficits in at least one
of three areas visual acuity, stereoacuity/ocular alignment, and
refractive error. There are three targeted disorders likely to be detected
by each screening test. These disorders are amblyopia, strabismus and
significant refractive error. The tests were selected not on the basis
of the level of expertise required to perform them, but rather on the
basis of scientific evidence they have characteristics that will make
them effective in preschool vision screening (e.g. quick, inexpensive,
reliable, easy to interpret, able to be performed by the majority of children
of appropriate age, lacking cultural bias). The results of the first year
of the VIP Study will indicate the sensitivity of each test for detecting
one or more of the three targeted conditions.
Northeastern State University in Tahlequah joins four other colleges in
Columbus, OH; Boston, MA; Philidelphia, PA; and Berkeley, CA, for the
nation-wide study. The goal is to work with Head Start agencies over the
next five years in reaching 10,000 children.
At the end of the five-year study, Northeastern State University College
of Optometry will retain full ownership of the mobile medical unit.
For more information, please contact Project
Coordinator, Linda Cheatham at 918-456-5511, ext. 4060.
Published: 2001-11-01 00:00:00