The effect on income of providing near vision correction to workers in Bangladesh: The THRIVE (Tradespeople and Hand-workers Rural Initiative for a Vision-enhanced Economy) randomized controlled trial.

Autor: Sehrin F; BRAC (Formerly: Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), Dhaka, Bangladesh., Jin L; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China., Naher K; BRAC (Formerly: Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), Dhaka, Bangladesh., Das NC; BRAC (Formerly: Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), Dhaka, Bangladesh., Chan VF; University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.; Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom., Li DF; Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom., Bergson S; VisionSpring, New York, New York, United States of America., Gudwin E; VisionSpring, New York, New York, United States of America., Clarke M; Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom., Stephan T; Orbis International, New York, New York, United States of America., Congdon N; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.; Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.; Orbis International, New York, New York, United States of America.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 Apr 03; Vol. 19 (4), pp. e0296115. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Apr 03 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296115
Abstrakt: Introduction: Presbyopia, the leading cause of vision impairment globally, is common during working years. However, no trials have assessed presbyopia's impact on income.
Methods: In April 2017, we conducted a census among 59 Bangladesh villages to identify persons aged 35 to 65 years with presbyopia (presenting distance vision > = 6/12 bilaterally and correctable inability to see 6/13 at 40 cm with both eyes), who never had owned glasses. Participants were randomized (1:1) to receive immediate free reading glasses (intervention) or glasses delivered 8 months later (control). Visual demand of different jobs was stratified into three levels. Outcomes were between-group differences in the 8 month change in: self-reported monthly income (primary) and Near Vision Related Quality of Life (NVRQOL, secondary).
Results: Among 10,884 census participants, 3,655 (33.6%) met vision criteria and 863 (23.6%) comprised a sample enriched for near vision-intensive jobs, but 39 (4.52%) could not be reached. All participants allocated to intervention (n = 423, 51.3%) and control (n = 401, 48.7%) received the appropriate intervention, and follow-up was available for 93.4% and 96.8% respectively. Groups were similar at baseline in all characteristics: mean age was 47 years, 50% were male, 35% literate, and about half engaged in "most near vision-intensive" occupations. Glasses wear at 8-month follow-up was 88.3% and 7.81% in intervention and control respectively. At baseline, both the intervention and control groups had a self-reported median monthly income of US$35.3. At endline, the median income for the intervention group was US$47.1 compared with US$35.3 for control, a difference of 33.4%. Predictors of greater income increase in multivariate models included intervention group allocation (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.12, 1.88, P = 0.005), male sex (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.84, 3.16, P <0.001), and not engaging in income-producing work at baseline (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.69, 3.26, P<0.001).
Conclusion: Provision of reading glasses increases income in near vision-intensive occupations, and may facilitate return to work for those currently unemployed.
Competing Interests: Sehrin, Jin, Naher, Chandra Das, Chan and Clarke declare no competing interests. Gudwin and Bergson report personal fees from VisionSpring, a social enterprise engaged in the distribution and sale of eyewear, outside the submitted work. Congdon is Director of Research for Orbis International, a non-governmental organization carrying out eye health programs in low and middle-income countries, outside the submitted work. Congdon also received salary support from Ulverscroft Foundation, a UK-registered charity, at the time of this work. Stephan is a Global Programs Manager for Orbis International outside the submitted work. None of these interests alters our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
(Copyright: © 2024 Sehrin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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