大学生のコンタクトレンズ使用状況および使用に関する実態調査

To investigate the adequate use of contact lenses (CL) and the necessity health guidance to prevent ocular disorders, we conducted a questionnaire survey regarding the use of CL and the presence or absence of ocular disorders in 127 students from whom informed consent regarding the survey contents was obtained. Seventy students (55.1%) used CL. The make-to-female ratio was 1:2. The mean interval from the start of CL application was 5.1±2.4 years. The types of CL consisted of hard CL in 12.9% of the 70 students, conventional soft CL (SCL) in 21.4%, frequent-replacement SCL (2 weeks) (FRSCL) in 50.0%, and daily disposable SCL in 15.7%. The proportion of students using FRSCL was the highest. The duration of wearing CL per day ranged from 12 to 14 hours; students wearing CL over many hours accounted for more than 50%. Concerning their experience regarding CL-related ocular disorders, 62.9% reported a history of oculopathy, including severe cases such as endophthalmitis. These results suggest that a method to inform CL users of the risk of CL-related ocular disorders, which develop despite appropriate care and periodic consultations, should be examined

<Essay> New Educational Programs for Orthoptic students

Recently, the Japanese educational system has rapidly become more flexible. Legal regulations on educational curriculums for the medical professions have been amended. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced that it will amend the controls on the designation of training schools for orthoptists (ORT) in the near future. Educational curriculums provide valuable direction to each medical profession and should have contents which meet contemporary needs. To survive, present day medical profession training schools must create original educational and training courses that are attractive and match the needs of current society. Accordingly, those specializing in the field are developing unique educational contents. Orthoptics educators have developed new educational programs for orthoptic practices in which "scientific poster exhibition, " "simulation of visual disturbances, " and "interview role playing" are used to achieve the educational goals for the given scholastic year