Financial Inequities in Optometric Education in Canada: A Comparison of Two Optometry Programs.

Significance: The advancing age of the population will require increased access to eye care services to manage eye diseases and vision correction. Optometric education requires a sound financial plan to manage student debt. This study evaluates the financial inequalities of optometric programs in Canada and how this may impact the provision of eye care professionals.
Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare the financial inequities in optometric education in Canada from the 2020 graduating class.
Methods: A cross-sectional study assessed monetary variables related to the study of optometry in Canada, including academic and personal expenses, and overall debt and expenses related to the COVID-19 lockdown for the 2020 graduating class.
Results: A total of 108 optometry students from the 2020 graduating classes of the University of Montreal and the University of Waterloo responded, with 68 (female/male respondents, 53:15; mean [standard deviation] age, 25.66 [2.01] years) completing the study. Waterloo students spent more years in university ( P < .001), had higher academic fees ( P < .001), spent more on traveling to their family residence ( P = .007), and received more provincial ( P = .002) and federal ( P < .001) loans than Montreal students. Overall debt before optometry was similar among students but differed ( P < .001) at the end of their program, with Waterloo students having a higher debt burden.
Conclusions: There is a financial inequity in optometric education in Canada depending on the chosen program. Cumulative optometry student debt for the 2020 graduating class in Canada ranges from Can $0 to $189,000 with an average of Can $65,800 and a median of Can $50,000. The results of this study can assist financial and government agencies, and future optometry students to better understand the financial burdens and establish a financial plan to study optometry in Canada, to respond to the growing eye care needs of the public.
Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None of the authors have any direct conflict related to this study. This study was presented as a poster at the 2021 American Academy of Optometry annual meeting in Boston.
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