EssilorLuxottica and World Council of Optometry partner to establish a global standard of care for presbyopia and the aging eye
The global program aims to establish a standard of care for presbyopia through evidence-based resources that focus on the eye practitioner’s care on mitigation, measurement, and management.
On the occasion of World Optometry Week 2024, EssilorLuxottica and the World Council of Optometry (WCO) announced a global partnership to raise the awareness and understanding of presbyopia and the aging eye, with the aim to establish standards of care for eye care professionals to follow when managing the condition. This initiative will also help eye care professionals with the latest evidence-based scientific approaches, tools and resources focused on the three pillars of mitigation, measurement, and management of presbyopia.
Presbyopia is a naturally occurring condition that people typically begin to develop when they reach 40-45 years of age. Currently, there are an estimated 2.1 billion people worldwide with presbyopia1. As the world’s population is aging, it is estimated that by 2050, more than 4 billion people in the world will have presbyopia (approximately 40% of the world’s population)2. With the extension of life expectancy, the majority of individuals will experience an intervention for the vision changes due to presbyopia for about half of their lifespan. Consequently, the different vision care solutions allow them to engage more in visually demanding near activities at older ages compared to previous generations. The demand on our eyes has significantly increased over the past three decades, notably due to the widespread use of digital devices. These changes highlight the importance of effectively evaluating, measuring and managing presbyopia among patients, particularly as it will likely have an impact on their daily activities and quality of life.
Aside from raising global awareness, the program will also feature insights from several international experts in the field, to build the standard of care resolution and bring the latest research and evidence in easily accessible educational materials available to all individuals interested in learning more about presbyopia. To ensure accessibility, assets will be published on both the WCO microsite and EssilorLuxottica’s learning platform, Leonardo. Further updates on the available content and resources will be announced in the coming months.
WCO President Dr. Sandra Block said, “We are excited to partner with EssilorLuxottica to bring the importance of addressing our patients’ needs to see well up close. There are many new options to address presbyopia, and we agree that it is important to bring the information to the eye care practitioner so they can provide the best care for the patients. Along with helping to ensure evidence-based techniques are used, the partnership will highlight the eye health changes that are on-going as the patients grow older.”
“We are thrilled to partner with the World Council of Optometry, an organization that shares our vision to contribute to better eye health and vision care for people everywhere. Through this important program, I am certain that we will raise the global conversation around presbyopia and together make an even greater impact by providing a standard of care to manage the condition, but also providing the resources and support needed to help eye care professionals improve patient outcomes,” said Olga Prenat, Head of Medical and Professional Affairs at EssilorLuxottica.
As part of its long-standing efforts to advance knowledge and education on vision care globally, EssilorLuxottica has been partnering with WCO since 2015 at their first World Congress of Optometry, and from then on, actively participating in all their congresses, and supporting other WCO global awareness initiatives such as the Global State of Optometry Survey. The survey will include information on scope of practice, competency levels, demographics, optometric education requirements, and regulatory information.
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About the World Council of Optometry
The World Council of Optometry (WCO) is an international membership-based non-profit organization for individual optometrists, industry professionals and optometric organizations that envisions a world where optometry makes high quality eye health and vision care accessible to all people. Its mission is to facilitate the development of optometry around the world and support optometrists in promoting eye health and vision care as a human right through advocacy, education, policy development and humanitarian outreach. To learn more, please visit www.worldcouncilofoptometry.info or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Instagram.
About EssilorLuxottica
EssilorLuxottica is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames and sunglasses. With over 190,000 employees across 150 countries, 650 operations facilities and 18,000 stores, its mission is to help people around the world to see more and be more by addressing their evolving vision needs and personal style aspirations. EssilorLuxottica is home to the most advanced lens technologies including Varilux, Stellest and Transitions, the most iconic eyewear brands including Ray-Ban and Oakley, the most desired luxury licensed brands and world-class retailers including Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters and GrandVision. The company’s OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation has given access to sustainable vision care to more than 760 million people in underserved communities. www.essilorluxottica.com
