CooperVision Partners with Canadian Health & Family to Promote Awareness of the Myopia Epidemic

Tuesday, June 9 2020 | 08 h 29 min | News

With myopia projected to impact 50% of the world’s population by 2050, CooperVision Canada has partnered with Canadian Health & Family to promote awareness of childhood myopia through an educational segment available to stream online at www.healthandfamily.ca/MyopiaEpidemic. 

The segment—which originally aired on television networks CTV and HGTV, and again last month on CTV Toronto and CTV Montreal—features Debbie Jones, BSc, FCOptom, FAAO, clinical professor at the University of Waterloo and clinical scientist at the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE). Dr. Jones has been studying the effectiveness of the FDA-approved CooperVision MiSight® 1 day lens which has been shown to slow the progression of myopia in children by 59%. She was also involved in a study that examined myopia prevalence locally in Waterloo, Ontario and the surrounding area that revealed that 35% of study participants were living with uncorrected myopia. 

“At CooperVision, our goal is to elevate the standard of care such that no case of paediatric myopiagoes untreated,” said Alexandra Donkin, General Manager for CooperVision Canada. “Our partnership with Canadian Health & Family on this educational segment is one part of our work to get there. Parents, pediatricians, teachers and everyone in the life of a child need to be aware of the myopia epidemic and its impact. Only through awareness of the issue can a resolution towards slowing the progression be achieved.”

The segment also features the story of a young MiSight® 1 day clinical study participant, who shared how the freedom offered by contact lenses is a benefit for her active lifestyle, and a word from Joshua C. Smith, OD, past president of the Ontario Association of Optometrists, who emphasized the impact that time spent outdoors can have on reducing a child’s risk for developing myopia.

In addition to the television broadcast and online streaming, CooperVision has planned a digital advertising campaign featuring the segment, which will run in targeted markets through October.

Click HERE for the full press release.