Enhancing Strabismus Education through Interactive Learning Multimedia

Abstract

The objective of our project was to create an interactive online educational module that integrates biomechanics of the eye with its underlying anatomy to allow for a comprehensive understanding of pediatric strabismus and its clinical detection to prevent amblyopia.Amblyopia is the leading cause of monocular vision loss in the pediatric population, affecting 3–5% of children. Untreated, it leads to irreversible visual impairment in an otherwise structurally normal eye and can have significant effects on quality of life that impact self‐esteem and restrict career opportunities due to loss of stereopsis. Majority of cases are caused by strabismus, a condition resulting in the ocular misalignment of the eye. Early intervention significantly improves vision outcomes and psychosocial well‐being of the patient, however requires prompt and skilled detection. The pediatric eye examination can be inherently challenging, particularly considering the low emphasis on ophthalmology teaching in medical school curricula. Primary care residents and undergraduate medical student trainees often report low levels of comfort performing screening eye examinations and managing common pediatric ophthalmological presentations. Integration of open educational resources such as interactive clinical skills modules can effectively advance ophthalmology education and promote prompt detection of pediatric strabismus, with the goal of mitigating serious ophthalmic complications and improving overall patient care.To effectively address these educational challenges, we have developed an innovative online module that correlates ocular anatomy to biomechanical mechanisms, and provides practical guidelines to clinical examination. The module focuses on the pediatric eye examination, evaluating for amblyopia & strabismus, and was created through an international collaboration with experts in anatomy, education, and neuro‐ophthalmology to optimize content delivery and integrate clinical relevance. It offers a variety of interactive activities to engage student learning and concludes with a set of virtual cases entailing simulated clinical examination to assess acquired knowledge. Critical feedback will be collected using a student experience survey at the beginning and end of the module to solicit response regarding effectiveness of content delivery, preference of educational media, and comfort conducting a strabismus clinical examination.This international effort aims to significantly improve confidence performing clinical examination, guide prompt amblyopia detection in the pediatric population, and prevent development of its irrevocable complications.