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1. East London's Homeless: a retrospective review of an eye clinic for homeless people.

Author

D'Ath, Penny J., Keywood, Laura J., Styles, Elaine C., and Wilson, Clare M.

Subjects
*EYE care, *MEDICAL care of homeless people, *CLINICS, *REFRACTIVE errors, *OPTOMETRISTS, *MYOPIA treatment, *STATISTICS on Black people, *EYEGLASSES, *OUTPATIENT medical care, *BLACK people, *EYE diseases, *HOMELESS persons, *MYOPIA, *NEEDS assessment, *OPHTHALMOLOGY, *VISUAL acuity, *WHITE people, *DISEASE prevalence, *CROSS-sectional method, *RETROSPECTIVE studies, *THERAPEUTICS
Abstract

Background: There is very little published work on the visual needs of homeless people. This paper is the first study to investigate the visual needs of homeless people in the UK. Although similar work has been done in other countries, this study is unique because the United Kingdom is the only country with a National Health Service which provides free healthcare at the point of access. This study analysed the refractive status of the sample used, determined the demographics of homeless people seeking eye care and established if there is a need for community eye health with access to free spectacle correction in East London.Methods: This retrospective case study analysed the clinical records of 1,141 homeless people using the Vision Care for Homeless People services at one of their clinics in East London. All eye examinations were carried out by qualified optometrists and, where appropriate, spectacles were dispensed to patients. Data captured included age, gender, ethnicity and refractive error. Results were analysed using two-sample t-tests with Excel and Minitab.Results: Demographics of age, gender and ethnicity are described. Spherical equivalents (SE) were calculated from prescription data available for 841 clinic users. Emmetropia was defined as SE-0.50DS to +1DS, myopia as SE < -0.50DS, and hyperopia as SE > +1DS. The majority of clinic users were male (79.2 %, n = 923). Approximately 80 % (n = 583) of clinic users were white, 10 % (n = 72) were 'black', 4 % (n = 29) 'Asian' and the remaining 5.6 % (n = 40) were of 'mixed ethnicity' and 'other' groups. The mean age of females attending the clinic was significantly lower than that of males (45.9 years, SD = 13.8 vs' 48.4 years, SD = 11.8) when analysed using a two-sample t-test (t (317) = 2.44, p = 0.02). One third of service users were aged between 50-59 years. Myopia and hyperopia prevalence rates were 37.0 % and 21.0 % respectively. A total of 34.8 % of homeless people were found to have uncorrected refractive error, and required spectacle correction.Conclusions: This study has identified a high proportion of uncorrected refractive error in this sample and therefore a need for regular eye examinations and provision of refractive correction for homeless people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2016
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2. Ten years' hard labour.

Subjects
*REPRODUCTIVE health, *CONFERENCES & conventions, *WORLD health, *SOCIAL conditions of women, *BIRTH control, *CONTRACEPTION
Abstract

The article discusses the politics involved with reproductive health. A decade ago, the world's leaders met in Cairo at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). There, they crafted a plan to achieve "reproductive health and rights for all" by 2015. That plan was wide-ranging--from more contraception and fewer maternal deaths to better education for girls and greater equality for women. The ICPD plan also aimed to change the way those at the sharp end of making policy and delivering services thought about reproduction. It wanted to move away from a focus on family planning (and, by extension, government policies on population control) towards a broader view of sexual health, and systems and services shaped by individual needs. Over the past week, hundreds of government officials, public-health experts and activists met in London to mark the anniversary of the ICPD and to take stock of progress towards achieving its goals. On paper, that progress has been impressive. Governments around the world have introduced legislation that reflects the ICPD's aims. But when it comes to turning policy into practice, "mixed success" is the verdict of a report card just released by Countdown 2015, a coalition of voluntary bodies involved in the field. According to the United Nations' Population Fund (UNFPA), 61% of married couples now use contraception, an 11% increase since 1994. This has helped push global population growth down from 82m to 76m people a year over the past decade. But in some places--particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia--birth rates remain high. Few poor countries have earmarked enough of their budgets to meet their citizens' reproductive-health needs. Nor have donors lived up to expectations.

Published
2004