Love Your Eyes: Meghrigian Institute for Preventive Ophthalmology Celebrates World Sight Day 2022

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YEREVAN, Armenia — The Garo Meghrigian Institute for Preventive Ophthalmology (Meghrigian Institute) of the American University of Armenia (AUA) Turpanjian College of Health Sciences (CHS) celebrated World Sight Day 2022, this year realizing its eye screening program for patients with diabetes living in Armenia’s Kotayk province. The program aims to decrease visual impairment through the provision of comprehensive ophthalmic examination and distribution of spectacles and medication to those in need. 

World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. This year, it was celebrated on October 13 with the theme Love Your Eyes, as declared by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. The Love Your Eyes global campaign calls on individuals to take care of their own eye health and on leaders to ensure eye care is accessible and affordable to everyone everywhere. 

This year, the staff of the Meghrigian Institute carried out eye screenings in Abovyan, Hrazdan, Charencavan, and Yeghvard cities of Kotayk. Overall, the team screened 573 people 25 to 102 years old. The team took blood samples from 201 diabetic patients to measure their average level of blood glucose over the past three months (HbA1). Through the rest of October 2022, the Meghrigian Institute will distribute 566 spectacles to those who were identified as having uncorrected refractive errors and unaddressed presbyopia and will provide medication to 350 people diagnosed with eye diseases. The team also referred those who had eye diseases needing hospital care to specialized ophthalmic centers for more advanced medical treatment. In addition to conducting screenings, the Meghrigian Institute provided the participants with brochures and booklets containing valuable information on diabetes proper management and prevention of complications, including diabetic retinopathy.

The AUA Turpanjian College of Health Sciences works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of health professionals to be leaders in public health, nursing, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.