ArticleAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2024
Ocular therapeutics and the profession of optometry in South Africa.
Article in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Knowledge and Practices of South African Optometrists Regarding Childhood Myopia Management.Vision (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- International Survey of Eye Care Practitioners on Dry Eye Disease: A Comparative Analysis of South Africa, the United Kingdom and Other Global Regions.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- A review of lead times and determinant factors in public optometry services in South Africa.Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2026Review
- Availability of Eye Care Services and Management Strategies for Ocular Conditions in the uMgungundlovu District, KwaZulu-Natal.Clinical optometry · 2025Article
- Perceptions and Experiences of Key Informants in Eye Health on the Implementation of Eye Care Health Promotion Interventions in South Africa.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe role of an optometrist as defined by the World Council of Optometry includes the management of ocular diseases. In 2015, the scope of optometry in South Africa was expanded to include ocular therapeutic drugs. To date approximately 27 optometrists have obtained full certification to exercise ocular therapeutic privileges.
aimThis study aimed to determine the interest, readiness, as well as challenges, of optometrists for the inclusion of ocular therapeutics into daily practice.
settingThe study was set in South Africa.
methodsA descriptive, cross-sectional study design was employed. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 420 participants from a study population of optometrists registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, with data collected using an online questionnaire hosted on social media platforms and distributed by professional organisations. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 27.
resultsThe majority of respondents (73.3%) reported keenness for ocular therapeutics certification. While 75.7% of respondents had obtained diagnostics certification, only 9.5% were registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) with ocular therapeutics certification. Most (92.1%) respondents reported the required minimum of 600 h of clinical training as a major challenge to obtaining ocular therapeutics certification. Almost all (96.9%) of the respondents agreed that ocular therapeutics certification will improve provision of optimal eyecare.
conclusionSouth African optometrists support and are personally interested in ocular therapeutics certification. However, while there is a preponderance of diagnostically qualified optometrists, very few are certified for ocular therapeutics with completion of the required clinical training for certification perceived as the greatest challenge.Contribution: This findings in this study highlight that, current requirements to support ocular therapeutics certification of South African optometrists should be reviewed to ensure an enabling environment for the completion of the clinical training.
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Registered trials
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.