Research in optometry

Clinical and scientific research is as important for optometry as it is for other healthcare professions. Although research today is national and international, the influence and distribution of national research activities in the field of optometry and vision science is also of interest in an international context. An interesting paper on the preferred journals and research topics of the most cited Spanish optometrists was published by Cardona et al.¹ in the "Journal of Optometry", by the Spanish General Council of Optometry. In this detailed publication, the reader learns, that the main research areas of the Spanish authors were topography (6.5%), cornea (6.2%) and contact lenses (5%). A total of 32 authors with an h-index > 10 were identified, of which 14 (43.7%) were female. The data from the Scopus database on the 200 optometrists with the highest h-indexes is also interesting in this context.² One of the 200 optometrists with an h-index of 29 is the German optometrist Paul Artes, who teaches and researches at the University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.²
The h-index, introduced by Hirsch in 2005, is a numerical indicator that measures the scientific achievement of an author based on the number of publications and the numbers of citations to those works.³

Applied and clinical research is of course also practiced at German-speaking universities with optometry/vision science degree programs and associated research institutes.
One of the aims of Optometry & Contact Lenses (OCL) is to provide university teachers and students of optometry in Germany, Austria and Switzerland a recognized international forum for scientific discourse.

To the extent that our young professionals are trained at colleges and universities, the possibility of publishing their own research is becoming increasingly important for university teachers and graduates in order to be recognized nationally and internationally. In the current OCL, we will publish four related papers.

These include:

• Validation of selected tablet apps for determining visual acuity
• Do MKH prisms change asthenopic complaints when reading
• Intraocular lenses for patients with age-related macular degeneration
• Objective measurement of intraocular lenses using the VirtIOL

In 1977, Henry W. Hofstetter published an interesting paper in which he discussed the importance of an international dialogue for the development of optometry.4 The increase in eye diseases due to an ageing population but also the whole complex of visual defects requires an equally important international scientific and clinical dialogue "Research is the continuation of curiosity by other means" (H. J. Quadbeck). In the field of optometry, it is essential for the up to date treatment of patients with visual defects and eye diseases.
 

[1] Cardona, G., Puigdueta-Carrera, L., Efron, N. (2023). Optometry research in Spain: Topics of interest, institutions and investigators. J. Optom., 16, 167-174.

[2] Morgan, P. B., Morgan, G. A., Jones, L., Nichols, J., Efron, N. (2024). Global optometrist top 200 research ranking. https://optomrankings.com. Referencing: 23 Mai 2024.

[3] Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 102, 16569-16572.

[4] Hofstetter, H. W. (1977). Is internationalism an optometric issue? Am. J. Optom. Physiol. 54, 70-75.