Experts get together during the survey. [Photo/CQHCWC]

An investigating group of 10 experts on Dec 1-17 visited five districts and counties in Southwest China's Chongqing – including Yubei and Jiulongpo districts – to survey and guide children's eye care and vision examination work.

They also checked Nanchuan district's actions to rectify problems identified during a previous trip in 2020.

The group was led by Wang Hao, deputy director of the Division of Maternal and Child Health at the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission. Other members included Zhou Xiaojun, director of the Community Health Care Division at the Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children, or CQHCWC; He Liying, director of the Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat Department of the CQHCWC, as well as project management personnel from districts and counties.

The visits aimed to learn about eye care and vision examinations for children aged 0-6 years in the city, so as to further improve the ability to prevent and control myopia in kids and reduce the incidence of eye disease and poor vision.

Following seminars and reports, information queries, field inspections and personal interviews, the group found out a great detail. In particular, it learned about the establishment of children's eye care-related work mechanisms, equipment configurations, staffing and training, quality assessments, screening and referrals, and publicity and education work in the various districts and counties.

Experts also surveyed children's eye health files and information dissemination, offering guidance on problems encountered.

During the seminars, Wang Hao put forward four requirements for the development of children's eye health and myopia prevention and control – one of them being to explore new training models and strengthen training of children's eye health techniques for primary-level personnel.

Then there was the requirement to standardize process management and improve eye disease and vision screening services for children of all ages. Finally, there was the requirement to promote the establishment of a maternity and child health information platform and speed up the process of informatization management of children's eye health files – and to actively carry out eye health guidance and education activities.

The survey is expected to help standardize the city's children's eye care and vision examination management, as well as improve children's eye care service levels in primary institutions.

Moving forward, plans are for the CQHCWC to give full play to its role as a municipal-level child and adolescent myopia prevention and control base, so as to promote the high-quality development of children's eye health and vision examination management and ensure the healthy growth of children in the city.