Lead Author: Anthea Burnett
Submitted by: Amy Lorion, NBOME

The authors used unannounced standardized patients (USPs) to evaluate “the quality of refractive error care in Cambodia by estimating the proportion of prescribed and dispensed spectacles appropriate for people’s refractive error needs and factors associated with spectacle quality.” While much of the article focuses on the scientific aspects of the study, the authors also describe some of their methodology and general findings. As USPs, they recruited 18 adults with refractive error within specified ranges. These USPs underwent three days of in-person training and evaluation before beginning the study. Each USP visited 23-45 optical services, with each service visited by 1-5 USPs (60% of them by 5). At these visits, the USP would observe testing procedures, evaluate the clinician’s communication skills, and, depending on the clinician’s recommendation, purchase a pair of glasses. Research optometrists later examined the glasses for appropriateness for the USP. One intriguing finding: “44% of USPs who didn’t need glasses were prescribed them, with women being more likely to receive unnecessary prescriptions than men.”

Read the full article in the [Ophthalmic Epidemiology] [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09286586.2024.2321890].

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