IRIS Mundial was at the 98th yearly congress of the American Academy of Optometry which took place in Orlando, Florida, from October 23rd to 27th. Drs. Julie Brûlé and Benoit Tousignant, optometrists, were both on hand to present a new science poster entitled Prevalence of Visual Impairment and Eye Disease in Cañete, Peru. This poster presents the results of the analysis of the visual data collected during the IRIS Mundial mission that took place in Peru in 2017. The IRIS Mundial team of volunteers examined approximately 2100 disadvantaged patients during their visit to this poor area where inhabitants don’t have access to eye care. This study, produced in collaboration with the Optometry School from Université de Montréal, provides data on the prevalence of visual impairments in the area, helping to better identify their needs and plan future interventions to improve their ocular-visual health.
The study presented (based on 2101 patients), confirms among other things, the prevalence of binocular cataracts (8,1%) and pterygium (32% in at least one eye and 10,6% in both eyes) in this population. Prevalence estimates for blindness and visual impairments (12.7% visual impairment, 19.5% severe visual impairment) are higher than the national levels. Moreover, uncorrected refractive errors are significant, especially for presbyopia (81%) and high astigmatism (24%).