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Purpose: To analyze trends in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in ophthalmology and characterize its distribution to departments and principal investigators (PIs) affiliated with U.S. medical schools., Design: Longitudinal descriptive analysis., Methods: We queried publically accessible data from the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research and NIH RePORTER to determine annual funding trends in ophthalmology from 2009 to 2020. To characterize the distribution of funding, we further ranked the top departments and principal investigators (PIs). Department websites (among other online resources) were utilized to extract characteristics of the latter cohort., Results: After adjusting for inflation, we observed a modest 9% increase in median NIH funding to academic ophthalmology departments between 2009 and 2020. In the same time period, among individual PIs, this translated to a 9% decline in median funding. Our results among both departments and PIs indicated a persistent inequality in NIH funding. In 2020, 10 ophthalmology departments received 44% of total funding, which is consistent with findings from prior years. Our ranking of PIs by average annual NIH funding indicated a disproportionate representation of males (76%) and PhDs (58%) in the top 50., Conclusions: Overall, the results of this investigation suggest NIH funding remains limited for individual investigators, reflecting the increasingly competitive nature of the grant application process. Systemic alterations will be required to reverse these trends. If not accomplished, nascent and established researchers alike will continue to endure challenges in obtaining and maintaining funding.

PurposeTo analyze research productivity, as assessed by the National Institutes of Health-supported relative citation ratio (RCR), for a cohort of Southern academic ophthalmologists.DesignA descriptive and cross-sectional design was used. Data on gender, academic rank (assigned as an assistant professor, associate professor, professor, or degrees, and career duration were collected using online resources. Research yield was quantified using mean and weighted RCR data queried from the iCite database. Significant between-group differences were calculated using the Mann-Whitney U -test and the Kruskal-Wallis test.SettingsPracticing academic ophthalmologists at Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited ophthalmology programs in the Southern United States (n = 1018).ResultsFor all Southern academic ophthalmologists, median mean RCR was 0.90 (IQR 0.18-1.71) and median weighted RCR was 5.12 (IQR 0.34-33.18). Advanced academic rank and PhD acquisition were significantly associated with increased mean and weighted RCR. After exclusion of faculty within the "other" category, median mean RCR was 1.12 (IQR 0.54-1.80) and median weighted RCR was 11.65 (IQR 2.03-45.58). Furthermore, effects of career duration and gender emerged. Ophthalmologists with longer careers had significantly higher mean and weighted RCR than their younger counterparts. Males had significantly higher mean and weighted RCR than females.ConclusionsAcademic rank and attainment of a PhD degree were correlated with increased research productivity. When analyses focused exclusively on faculty not in the "other" subgroup, male gender, and lengthier career were associated with increased mean and weighted RCR, the former of which potentially highlights differences in professional advancement between genders.

Introduction: The internet is an increasingly important resource for patients seeking health-related information. Because of this trend, the American Medical Association (AMA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommend that online patient education materials (PEMs) be written between a third and seventh grade level. The present study evaluates the readability levels of ophthalmological PEMs provided by five major academic hospitals, quantifies the availability of accompanying videos and graphics, and examines the extent to which readability may be increased., Methods: In March 2021, 397 PEMs from five major academic hospitals were extracted for subsequent analysis by seven validated readability assessments. The presence of an accompanying video or graphic was noted. Statistical significance was assessed using the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's multiple comparisons test and the chi-square test., Results: Nearly all articles were written above the recommended reading level of 7 th grade. After averaging the scales for each article, the median grade level was 11.7 (interquartile range [IQR], 10.7-12.7). The PEMs with the highest median reading level were provided by the Johns Hopkins University Wilmer Institute (12.6, IQR, 11.3 - 13.6). Only 13.6% and 13.1% of articles had an accompanying video and graphic, respectively. Reduction of sentence length beneath 15 words resulted in an improvement of readability by 2.7 grade levels., Conclusions: The readability of online patient resources provided by major academic hospitals were above the literacy guidelines recommended by the NIH and AMA. Furthermore, most articles did not include a video or graphic, both of which could potentially improve patient understandability of educational materials. By altering these PEMs, as demonstrated here, institutions could increase the value these articles provide for patients and therefore the quality of the patient-physician relationship.

Purpose: Soccer participation within the United States continues to increase, necessitating consideration of the various injuries that may occur. The present study analyzes trends in the incidence of ocular injuries secondary to soccer trauma, the associated mechanism, and related visual sequelae, and quantifies age- and sex-specific differences in the distributions of these variables., Methods: The Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was queried for soccer-related ocular injuries from 2010 through 2019. Data exclusively focused on the globe were selected, and information regarding age, sex, specific diagnosis, mechanism of injury, and visual sequelae were acquired. Significance was calculated using the chi-squared test., Results: 628 NEISS entries were evaluated, extrapolating to a national average incidence of approximately 1580 soccer-related ocular injuries per year. There were a relatively static number of events during the ten-year time period of study. The most common diagnoses were contusions or abrasions (36.1%); among records with a reported mechanism of injury, the most common was contact with the soccer ball (80.9%). Visual sequelae were noted in a significant minority of patients (15.4%). Patients ≤18 and males comprised the majority of visits (68.2% and 70.2%, respectively). Significant sex- and age-specific differences were observed in the distributions of diagnoses., Conclusions: There are serious visual consequences associated with soccer-related ocular injury. Despite the existence of eye protection, there remain no regulations requiring its consistent use. Therefore, among all parties involved (e.g., players, families, and physicians), there remains a need to increase education regarding the potential ocular dangers associated with the sport.