Despite decades of research showing adverse neural consequences of abnormal vision, little has changed for amblyopic children. Data have shown that approximately half the cases of amblyopia are detected late, and this finding has remained stable during the past 40 years. In our health care system, primary care physicians play a pivotal role in translating findings about amblyopia into practice. But, our experience with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) / NEI expert panel on Vision Screening in the Preschool Child and the CHB/American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Project Universal Preschool Vision Screening revealed that primary care physicians get very little training about amblyopia and risk factors. Consequently, many do not screen aggressively for these conditions. The University of Alabama Departments of Optometry, Pediatrics and Continuing Medical Education, in collaboration with the AAP, MCHB, Prevent Blindness America, the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigators Group, the Vision in Preschoolers Study Group, and the Alabama Medicaid Agency, propose to develop a novel, internet-based, multi-modal strategy to increase the understanding and recognition of amblyopia and its risk factors by pediatricians and primary care physicians in office based settings. We propose a randomized, controlled clinical trial to test whether our intervention results in improved performance by """"""""intervention"""""""" physicians compared to control physicians (exposed to an immunization intervention). Our design, along with pre- and post-intervention performance measures, will evaluate changes in practice attributable to the intervention versus those occurring from other sources over time. Our final analysis will show whether preschool patients of intervention physicians are more likely to be identified with strabismus or amblyopia. This research forges a critical link between the truly phenomenal body of amblyopia research fostered by the NEI and the health care offered to American children. ? ? ?
| Marsh-Tootle, Wendy L; Frazier, Marcela G; Kohler, Connie L et al. (2012) Exploring pre-school vision screening in primary care offices in Alabama. Optom Vis Sci 89:1521-31 |
| Wall, Terry C; Marsh-Tootle, Wendy L; Crenshaw, Katie et al. (2011) Design of a randomized clinical trial to improve rates of amblyopia detection in preschool aged children in primary care settings. Contemp Clin Trials 32:204-14 |
| Marsh-Tootle, Wendy L; McGwin, Gerald; Kohler, Connie L et al. (2011) Efficacy of a web-based intervention to improve and sustain knowledge and screening for amblyopia in primary care settings. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 52:7160-7 |
| Marsh-Tootle, Wendy L; Wall, Terry C; Tootle, John S et al. (2008) Quantitative pediatric vision screening in primary care settings in Alabama. Optom Vis Sci 85:849-56 |
