Glaucoma: A Public Health Approach to Preventing Blindness

Explore pathways to strengthen glaucoma eye care services

Glaucoma relates to a group of eye conditions characterised by optic nerve damage and visual field loss, resulting in irreversible blindness. It reduces physical, emotional, and social wellbeing as well as overall quality of life.

On this four-week course from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, you’ll learn all you need to know about glaucoma and the public health approach to service provision and reducing the risk of disease progression.

You’ll explore how early detection and treatment is crucial in helping to prevent blindness and how to raise awareness within ophthalmic services. You’ll also unpack the challenge of delivering accessible and affordable high-quality eye care in preventing disease progression.

Analyse and evaluate methods of diagnosis for glaucoma

Working with experts in glaucoma, you’ll learn from their experience of delivering glaucoma services to those affected across a wide range of settings internationally.

You’ll also learn how glaucoma is investigated, diagnosed and managed across different resource settings.

Explore the management options and challenges for glaucoma

There are a number of diagnostic and treatment challenges associated with a lifelong disease like glaucoma.

You’ll assess the diagnostic guidelines and methods of management for open and closed-angle glaucomas. You’ll also learn to recognise treatment challenges faced at patient and health systems levels.

Learn how to advocate for access to good eye care to improve quality of life

Glaucoma can remain undetected for many years, leading to late presentation and high risk of blindness.

You’ll examine the key components of a glaucoma eye care programme and advocate for the resources, training, and infrastructure requirements within different levels of health services.

This course is designed for ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses, and medical practitioners working in eye care.

You may also find this course interesting if you specialise in other fields of medicine, if you’re a student of medicine or an NGO personnel.

This course is designed for ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses, and medical practitioners working in eye care.

You may also find this course interesting if you specialise in other fields of medicine, if you’re a student of medicine or an NGO personnel.

• Describe the definition of glaucoma and be aware of the classification types and subsets of glaucoma
• Evaluate the public health challenges, epidemiology and risk factors for the main types of glaucoma, both open and closed angle.
• Interpret the relevant anatomy of the eye and the pathophysiology of both open and closed angle types of glaucoma.
• Explain the natural history of glaucoma, associated symptoms, clinical features and vision loss.
• Assess the impact (psychological, physical, socioeconomic) of visual loss from glaucoma on the patient, their family, the wider community and the health system.
• Critique the approaches and challenges to raising awareness and advocacy for glaucoma.
• Discuss the treatment options and decision making pathways for open and closed angle glaucoma.