CooperVision and the World Council of Optometry (WCO) are partnering on a new interactive and educational myopia management resource for eyecare professionals (ECPs): the WCO CooperVision Myopia Management Navigator.
Give me the rundown on WCO.
Originally established in 1927 as the International Optical League in Berlin, Germany, before being renamed in 1995, the WCO is an international membership-based non-profit organization for optometrists, industry professionals, and optometric organizations.
Its mission: to promote the global development of optometry and support optometrists in their profession via advocacy, education, policy development, and humanitarian outreach.
Now about CooperVision… didn’t it just announce a myopia partnership?
Yes! But this collaboration is completely different…
Quick refresh: The company and the American Optometric Association (AOA) recently launched The Myopia Collective, an optometric initiative geared toward disrupting the current standard of care and education/advocating for myopia management.
Read all the details here.
Gotcha. So what does this new resource involve?
The Myopia Management Navigator is designed as a digital, evidence-based guide with in-depth information on the “three M’s of myopia management”:
- Mitigation
- Measurement
- Management
Go on…
Each of these three sections on the online platform includes links to various elements of content, advice and practical actions (accessible as “Myopia Moments), webinars, and other resources.
The Navigator is also intended to serve “as a ready resource in clinical setting to provide guidance for patients and families in discussions about myopia management.”
These “three M’s” sound familiar…
They should! They’re actually part of the WCO’s Standard of Care Guidelines for Myopia Management, which the nonprofit developed and introduced in April 2021.
Since then, it has worked with CooperVision to promote awareness and adoption of this landmark initiative—with the Navigator being an extension of it.
How is this resource being promoted to ECPs?
Through a team of WCO-appointed ambassadors—all of whom were selected based on their “myopia management educational roles, outreach, and practice-building initiatives,” according to the nonprofit.
These myopia experts include:
- Global Representative:
- Nicola Logan, PhD, MEd, MCOptom, SFHEA, FBCLA
- Professor of optometry and physiological optics
- School of Optometry at Aston University in Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Professor of optometry and physiological optics
- Nicola Logan, PhD, MEd, MCOptom, SFHEA, FBCLA
- Asia–Pacific Representative:
- Jagrut Lallu, MSc Specialty Lenses (Hons), BOptom (Hons), FIAOMC
- Partner of Rose Optometry in Hamilton, New Zealand
- Director of Innovatus Technology
- Jagrut Lallu, MSc Specialty Lenses (Hons), BOptom (Hons), FIAOMC
- European Representative:
- Síofra Harrington, PhD, FAOI
- Lecturer, researcher, and clinical supervisor
- School of Physics, Clinical and Optometric Sciences at Technological University in Dublin, Ireland
- Fellow of the Association of Optometrists Ireland
- Lecturer, researcher, and clinical supervisor
- Síofra Harrington, PhD, FAOI
- Americas Representative:
- Ashley Wallace Tucker, OD, FAAO, FSLS, ABO Diplomate
- Partner at Bellaire Family Eye Care and The Contact Lens Institute of Houston
- Visiting assistant professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry
- Course master for the Ophthalmic Optics Laboratory
- Ashley Wallace Tucker, OD, FAAO, FSLS, ABO Diplomate
Click here to see the full biographies for each of these global ambassadors.
Lastly, why develop this kind of resource?
WCO President Sandra Block, OD, noted that it is crucial to not only educate both new and experienced ECPs, but also expand their knowledge on integrating myopia management into their practices.
“The Navigator offers a user-friendly online platform, providing a simple and accessible resource for clinicians, parents, and allied professionals to navigate their own educational path through myopia management,” stated Elizabeth Lumb, CooperVision’s director of Professional Affairs, Myopia.