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NEW STUDY EXAMINES THE IMPACT OF VISION CORRECTION CHOICES ON CHILDREN’S SELF-PERCEPTION AND LONG-TERM ACHIEVEMENT POTENTIAL
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., December 10, 2004 –
How do vision correction choices affect not only how kids see the
world, but also how they see themselves? That’s the question
researchers at The Ohio State University College of Optometry hope
to answer during a multi-center, randomized clinical trial aptly
titled The Adolescent and Child Health Initiative to Encourage Vision
Empowerment (ACHIEVE) Study. The three-year study, which is currently
under way, is assessing the effect of glasses and contact lenses
on the self-perception of myopic children ages 8 to 11 years, and
examining how each vision correction choice influences children’s
academic and athletic competence, social acceptance, behavior and
overall self-perception.
ACHIEVE builds upon the results of a pilot study
that proved that children ages 8 to 11 can wear contact lenses successfully
and care for them independently. “Until now, eye care professionals
didn’t routinely prescribe contact lenses for vision correction
in children younger than 12 years,” said the lead investigator,
Jeffrey J. Walline, OD, PhD, who discussed the ACHIEVE Study today
in a presentation at the American Academy of Optometry’s Academy
2004 meeting in Tampa, Fla. “Now that we’ve learned
we can fit younger kids, we need to find out whether wearing contact
lenses instead of glasses can give kids better self-perception and
potentially a brighter future.”
“This long-term look at the link between
vision correction and self-perception may change the way eye care
professionals and caregivers think about kids and contacts,”
said study Chair Karla Zadnik, OD, PhD. “Myopic children’s
self-perception may be affected by their vision correction choices,
which has historically been glasses rather than contact lenses,
especially at younger ages.”
About the Study
The study’s protocol reflects input from a multi-disciplinary
advisory panel of academicians and eye care professionals who work
with children, including optometrists, pediatricians and child psychologists.
The 484 children enrolled to date were randomly assigned to wear
glasses or disposable soft contact lenses. Their self-perceptions
will be assessed every six months, using a well-validated survey,
the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC). Additionally the
Pediatric Refractive Error Profile (PREP) survey was developed to
compare the vision-specific quality of life between children wearing
contact lenses and children wearing glasses throughout the entire
study.
The unique aspect of this study is the use of
the Spectacle Survey, which was developed by Mitchell J. Prinstein,
PhD, a Clinical Child Psychologist formerly with the Yale University
and now with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The
Spectacle Survey will be administered at the beginning of the study
to determine children’s satisfaction with their glasses. This
information will be used to determine whether children who dislike
wearing glasses are affected differently than children who don’t
mind wearing glasses in terms of changes in self-perception.
Of the children assigned to wear contact lenses
in the ACHIEVE study, 93 percent chose to wear daily disposable
lenses rather than two-week replacement lenses. Daily disposables
were also used in the pilot study. All the children reported that
the lenses were always or usually comfortable, and more than 80
percent said they usually or never had no problem inserting and
removing them after just one week of wear. Dr. Walline attributed
these results to the fact that daily disposables eliminate the need
for cleaning and disinfecting lenses, and recommended that eye care
professionals “strongly consider daily disposables as a contact
lens treatment option for children.”
The ACHIEVE study is supported by an educational
grant from The Vision Care Institute™ of Johnson & Johnson
Vision Care Inc. “We are always seeking to expand our knowledge
about every aspect of vision,” said Phil Keefer, president
of Johnson & Johnson’s Vision Care Institute, “and
children’s self-perception as it relates to vision correction
is an important and necessary new area of research. We plan to use
the study’s findings to help eye care professionals bring
their young patients better vision and potentially, improved quality
of life.”
About The Vision Care Institute of Johnson
& Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
The purpose of The Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson
Vision Care, Inc. is to enhance patient satisfaction through innovative
education. Its mission is to be the leading source for continuous
learning and information in eye care for all eye care providers,
and a source of relevant eye care information and insights for the
general public.
About Johnson & Johnson Vision Care,
Inc.
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. includes The Spectacle Lens
Group, VISTAKON® and VISTAKON® Pharmaceuticals Divisions.
The Spectacle Lens Group designs, develops, manufactures and markets
spectacle lenses, with a focus on Progressive Addition Lens products
for presbyopes. VISTAKON specializes in disposable contact lens
brands, including ACUVUE® , ACUVUE® 2, and 1•DAY
ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses, ACUVUE®, Brand BIFOCAL
Contact Lenses for people with presbyopia; ACUVUE®, Brand TORIC
for people with astigmatism; ACUVUE® 2 COLOURS™
Brand Contact Lenses, and ACUVUE ADVANCE® Brand Contact Lenses
with HYDRACLEAR®. VISTAKON® Pharmaceuticals, LLC, formed
in 2004, markets three prescription ophthalmic agents: QUIXIN®
(levofloxacin ophthalmic solution) 0.5%, BETIMOL® (timolol ophthalmic
solution) and ALAMAST® (pemirolast potassium ophthalmic solution).
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