Book ReviewsStrategies for the Prevention of Blindness in National Programmes: A Primary Health Care Approach Khalid F. TabbaraMD Khalid F. Tabbara Professor of Ophthalmology, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia Search for more papers by this author Published Online:1 Nov 1997https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.1997.576SectionsPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AboutIntroductionThis 104-page book published by the World Health Organization was originally prepared by a working group for the WHO program for the prevention of blindness, and included contributions from several WHO collaborating centers. Its first publication was in 1984 and this is the second edition.The book consists of four major sections: 1) Introduction and background; 2) National program for the prevention of blindness; 3) Primary eye care; and 4) Methodological approaches to specific blinding conditions.Like other books on the subject, this book presents a global approach for establishing strategies for the prevention of blindness. In the introduction and background section, the development of eye health services is presented, and the definitions of primary eye care, secondary eye care, tertiary eye care and mobile eye services are presented. Unfortunately, this section is redundant and appears to be repeated throughout the text.The other sections of the book, including national programs for the prevention of blindness, are very general and without any specific programs or plans. In the third section on primary eye care, the various activities of primary eye care held by professionals are presented. Again, there is no specific information on how to carry out primary eye care assessments of blinding disorders. Unfortunately, the term “primary eye care” may mean “care provided by a health worker, a nurse, a general practitioner, or an ophthalmologist.” In an attempt to have applications in various countries at different levels, the material represents a vague and unspecified approach for primary eye care.The last section contains little new information, except for two sections that have been added on diabetic retinopathy and childhood blindness. The section is entitled “Methodological approaches to specific blinding conditions” and includes trachoma, malnutrition, onchocerciasis, cataract, ocular trauma, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and childhood blindness. Unfortunately, there are several hypothetical organizational propositions which may or may not apply to various developing countries.The sections, on the whole, are not consistent in their outline. Some sections described epidemiology and in others, epidemiology was deleted. An attempt was made to present arm chair philosophy in the prevention of blindness, listing the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, and this approach appears to have been too dogmatic for practical implementation of prevention of blindness.The book appears to be an outline for establishing strategies for the prevention of blindness, but did not present any realistic approach to any individual country for the prevention of blindness. The book is mainly a list of conditions and dogmatic approaches for the prevention of blindness strategies, but many of those that are listed in the different sections appear to be too hypothetical.I do hope that in the future, books of the WHO will introduce a better approach for solving complex clinical problems. It might be a good idea for the working group in the World Health Organization to focus on regional blindness in the world, and to establish plans for the prevention and control of blinding disorders in specific geographic locations. This book does not apply to any particular region and has a global overview without specific information. It is, however, a good piece of information for people who are involved in health care and prevention of blindness programs. Previous article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 17, Issue 5September 1997 Metrics History Published online1 November 1997 InformationCopyright © 1997, Annals of Saudi MedicinePDF download
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