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This study evaluates how effective a one-day training in direct ophthalmoscopy is for students assessing glaucoma.

May 9, 2026Open Access

Effect of low-cost direct ophthalmoscopy training on glaucoma disc assessment by allied ophthalmic personnel students: a controlled pre-post study

Key Points

This study evaluates how effective a one-day training in direct ophthalmoscopy is for students assessing glaucoma.
Controlled pre-post study design with participants assigned to training and control groups.
Participants received training on using frugal solar-powered ophthalmoscopes.
Assessment of glaucoma disc evaluation skills before and after training.
Significant improvement in glaucoma assessment scores from pre-training to post-training.
Direct ophthalmoscopy training positively impacted skills among allied ophthalmic personnel students.

Abstract

Early detection and treatment of glaucoma can help prevent progression to irreversible blindness, yet in many countries the majority affected remain undiagnosed 1.With only one ophthalmologist per 556 000 population in Zambia as of 2022 2, the burden of early glaucoma detection falls on Allied Ophthalmic Personnel (AOP) working at the district and provincial health service level.This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a single day of focussed direct ophthalmoscopy training using a frugal solar-powered direct Fig. 1 Participant recruitment flow-chart.This diagram shows the enrolment and assignment of participants to the intervention (training and provision of Arclight ophthalmoscopes) and control (routing practice) groups from baseline to final follow-up at one month.

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