Childhood myopia module for eye care professionals is changing young lives

Vision health researchers have found that a childhood myopia management module for eye care practitioners at Glasgow Caledonian is improving children’s lives and boosting workplace satisfaction.

Myopia, or short-sightedness, is where the length of the eye increases and distant objects appear blurred. Wearing spectacles or contact lenses makes vision clearer but left without these it can affect a child’s ability to learn and play sports. Spectacles typically need to be made stronger until late teenage years and greater amounts of myopia can lead to an increased risk of eye diseases later in life.

The number of children with myopia has more than doubled in the last 50 years with one in five children in the UK affected by it. It is estimated that almost half of the world will become myopic by 2050. Myopia is also occurring at a younger age and those who develop myopia between 6 and 13 years are more likely to have high myopia as an adult.

The Myopia Management CPD Module at the University is designed to equip eye care practitioners with the knowledge and confidence to manage children with myopia in communities.

A recent study titled - Impact of myopia management university-based learning on self-reported clinical practice - carried out by eyecare researchers Drs Stephanie Kearney and Mhairi Day, found that practitioners who completed this module now felt more confident and knowledgeable when discussing myopia management with patients.

The study also revealed an increase in the number of children receiving interventions and perceived workplace satisfaction among practitioners as well as a decrease in perceived risk of patient complaints as a result of the module.

Since the start of the module in 2022, the research shows that for each practitioner trained, 528 children a year experienced a positive change in their eye care as a result of their practitioner completing the myopia management module.

The study concludes that employers should consider investing in university-based learning to improve the uptake of these management options into clinical practice.

A hardship fund was made available for students starting this module in September 2025, courtesy of HOYA Vision Care and Essilor, to cover full module fees for students experiencing financial hardship.

Feedback from students includes one student saying their “perception about myopia management has totally changed” and another saying “it has given me so much confidence in my clinical practice”.

Dr Kearney and Dr Day are both Senior Lecturers in the Department of Vision Sciences in the School of Health and Life Sciences (SHLS) and key researchers in the School's Research Centre for Health (ReaCH).