New Global Survey Underscores Need for Myopia Education

While a Majority of Eye Care Professionals Recognize the Seriousness of Myopia,
Parents Remain Unfamiliar but Open to Solutions

 

SAN RAMON, Calif., Jan. 18, 2021—Recently released global survey results from CooperVision underscore a gap between the concern of eye care professionals and the understanding of parents regarding the growing myopia epidemic and the impact myopia can have on future eye health. Four in five eye care professionals (82%) worry that their young patients will have significant eye health issues associated with myopia as they grow older¹ and yet over half (54%) say parents don’t understand these future eye health risks.² These and other findings are featured in an infographic available at https://coopervision.com/global-myopia-survey-infographic.pdf.

402 ECPs and 1,009 parents with children ages 6 to 15 across Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand were included in the Global Myopia Attitudes and Awareness Study.^‡

Globally, parents are more familiar with the term “nearsightedness” (i.e. short-sightedness) than myopia, though the difference varies from country to country. Whereas at least 8 in 10 parents expressed familiarity with the term “nearsightedness” across all surveyed countries (82-98%), only Spain (91%), Hong Kong (86%), and Australia and New Zealand (90%) could say the same for myopia.³

Once an explanation brought myopia into focus for the surveyed parents, 87% were open to learning more about myopia management solutions.³ They also prioritized ease of use and comfort for their child. After learning specifically about MiSight^® 1 day—daily soft contact lens designed to slow the progression of myopia in children, the majority (76%) also believe it is safe and easy to use for children as young as 8 years old.³

Nearly three-quarters of ECPs agree that a comprehensive myopia management program featuring MiSight^® 1 day seems easy (72%) for children and their parents to follow and is an even more convenient (75%) way to manage myopia than other products.¹ Ultimately, what many ECPs (92%) find important about offering myopia management is the ability to make a difference in their young patients’ future eye health.¹

“In these results, we see both opportunity and encouragement for myopia management globally,” said Jennifer Lambert, CooperVision senior director of global myopia management. “A top priority for us and many of our partners is to strengthen myopia awareness among parents worldwide. This is an important step toward our vision for myopia management as a standard of care, and it will take teamwork and commitment from industry, eye care professionals, pediatricians, parents and others to succeed. The indication that parents are open to learning about solutions⁴ once they understand the condition is welcome encouragement that these efforts will prove effective and worthwhile.”

Other highlights from the survey include:

• ECPs identified that the most important reasons for recommending specific myopia management options include having the best clinical results (58%), being the easiest for children to use (44%), and being an approved product (44%) (i.e., regulatory indication to slow myopia progression).¹
• 84% of ECPs would consider putting their pediatric myopes into contact lenses that could help slow the progression of myopia.¹ 1 in 2 ECPs are comfortable fitting myopic children with contact lenses from age 8. This increases to 3 in 4 ECPs by age 10. The average age ECPs are comfortable with is 9.1 years old.²
• Parents prefer their children to be older when starting to use contact lenses. According to parent data, 1 in 2 parents are comfortable with their children wearing contact lenses from age 11. This increases to three-quarters by age 14. The average age parents are comfortable with is 11.7 years old.²
• However, the introduction of MiSight^® 1 day nearly triples parents’ interest in a myopia management program with soft contact lenses, rising from 27% to 74%.³

Selected data and insights from the survey were recently presented in a scientific poster session during the 2020 BCLA UK Virtual Conference and Exhibition.

 

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† Compared to a single vision 1 day lens over a 3 year period.

‡ Research Method: The survey was conducted online and all respondents were paid an honorarium in appreciation of their time. ECPs were screened to be sure they have been in practice for at least a year, treat a minimum number of patients monthly and fit 10% or more of those patients into contacts, of which at least 10% are pediatric patients, that they would be open to fitting some pediatric patients into a soft contact lens to stop the progression of their myopia, and that they have some responsibility in deciding which products to carry.