Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31266774›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of ophthalmology2020

Estimated number of ophthalmologists worldwide (International Council of Ophthalmology update): will we meet the needs?

Serge Resnikoff, Van Charles Lansingh, Lindsey Washburn, William Felch, Tina-Marie Gauthier, Hugh R Taylor, Kristen Eckert, David Parke, Peter Wiedemann

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of ophthalmology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 180 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
180citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
49.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

180 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 362 citations in OpenAlex.

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  17. Advances in cataract surgery: is a new era on the horizon?Current opinion in ophthalmology · 2026
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120 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Serge ResnikoffBrien Holden Vision Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia serge.resnikoff@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-5866-4446
Van Charles LansinghHelp Me See, Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmologia, Queretaro, Mexico.
Lindsey WashburnInternational Council of Ophthalmology, San Francisco, California, USA.
William FelchInternational Council of Ophthalmology, San Francisco, California, USA.
Tina-Marie GauthierInternational Council of Ophthalmology, San Francisco, California, USA.
Hugh R TaylorMelbourne School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Kristen EckertIndependent Consultant, San Antonio Tlayacapan, Mexico.
David ParkeAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology, San Francisco, California, USA.
Peter WiedemannInternational Council of Ophthalmology, San Francisco, California, USA.
International Council of Ophthalmology · USAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology · USBrien Holden Vision Institute · AUInstituto Mexicano de Oftalmología IAP · MXThe University of Melbourne · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

aimsTo estimate 2015 global ophthalmologist data and analyse their relationship to income groups, prevalence rates of blindness and visual impairment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

methodsOnline surveys were emailed to presidents/chairpersons of national societies of ophthalmology and Ministry of Health representatives from all 194 countries to capture the number and density (per million population) of ophthalmologists, the number/density performing cataract surgery and refraction, and annual ophthalmologist population growth trends. Correlations between these data and income group, GDP per capita and prevalence rates of blindness and visual impairment were analysed.

resultsIn 2015, there were an estimated 232 866 ophthalmologists in 194 countries. Income was positively associated with ophthalmologist density (a mean 3.7 per million population in low-income countries vs a mean 76.2 in high-income countries). Most countries reported positive growth (94/156; 60.3%). There was a weak, inverse correlation between the prevalence of blindness and the ophthalmologist density. There were weak, positive correlations between the density of ophthalmologists performing cataract surgery and GDP per capita and the prevalence of blindness, as well as between GDP per capita and the density of ophthalmologists doing refractions.

conclusionsAlthough the estimated global ophthalmologist workforce appears to be growing, the appropriate distribution of the eye care workforce and the development of comprehensive eye care delivery systems are needed to ensure that eye care needs are universally met.

Indexed as

FemaleGlobal HealthHealth PersonnelHealth Services Needs and DemandHealth Services ResearchHealth SurveysHealth WorkforceHumansIncomeInternational AgenciesMaleOphthalmologistsOphthalmologySocieties, MedicalSurveys and Questionnairesepidemiologypublic healthtreatment surgery

Identifiers

PMID31266774
PMCPMC7147181
OpenAlexW2954850454

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.