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. 2020 Aug 11;5(1):e000533.
doi: 10.1136/bmjophth-2020-000533. eCollection 2020.

Strengthening the integration of eye care into the health system: methodology for the development of the WHO package of eye care interventions

Stuart Keel  1 , Jennifer R Evans  2 , Sandra Block  3 , Rupert Bourne  4   5 , Margarita Calonge  6 , Ching-Yu Cheng  7   8 , David S Friedman  9 , João M Furtado  10 , Rohit C Khanna  11 , Wanjiku Mathenge  12 , Silvio Mariotti  13 , Elenoa Matoto  14 , Andreas Müller  13 , M Mansur Rabiu  15 , Tuwani Rasengane  16 , Jialang Zhao  17 , Richard Wormald  18   19 , Alarcos Cieza  13
Affiliations

Strengthening the integration of eye care into the health system: methodology for the development of the WHO package of eye care interventions

Stuart Keel et al. BMJ Open Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Objective: To describe the rational for, and the methods that will be employed to develop, the WHO package of eye care interventions (PECI).

Methods and analysis: The development of the package will be conducted in four steps: (1) selection of eye conditions (for which interventions will be included in the package) based on epidemiological data on the causes of vision impairment and blindness, prevalence estimates of eye conditions and health facility data; (2) identification of interventions and related evidence for the selected eye conditions from clinical practice guidelines and high-quality systematic reviews by a technical working group; (3) expert agreement on the inclusion of eye care interventions in the package and the description of resources required for the provision of the selected interventions; and (4) peer review. The project will be led by the WHO Vision Programme in collaboration with Cochrane Eyes and Vision. A Technical Advisory Group, comprised of public health and clinical experts in the field, will provide technical input throughout all stages of development.

Results: After considering the feedback of Technical Advisory Group members and reviewing-related evidence, a final list of eye conditions for which interventions will be included in the package has been collated.

Conclusion: The PECI will support Ministries of Health in prioritising, planning, budgeting and integrating eye care interventions into health systems. It is anticipated that the PECI will be available for use in 2021.

Keywords: public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dimensions of UHC. UHC, Universal Health Coverage.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phases of the development of the PECI, the groups responsible for each phase and an overview of the timeline for development (adapted from: The World Report on Vision2). CEV, Cochrane Eyes and Vision; DG, Development Group; PECI, package of eye care interventions; PRG, Peer Review Group; TAG, Technical Advisory Group; TWG, Technical Working Group; WHO VP, WHO Vision Programme.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Flowchart for the identification of CPGs. CEV, Cochrane Eyes and Vision; CPGs, Clinical Practice Guidelines; TWG, Technical Working Group; WHO VP, WHO Vision Programme.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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