Occupational Optometry Services

Do not let unhealthy vision practices become an occupational hazardLet occupational optometry enhance the power of your vision and productivity

About Occupational Optometry

The branch of optometric practice that is concerned with the efficient and safe visual functioning of an individual at work.

We spend most of our time at work. Visual well-being also matters, when it comes to how efficiently we perform at the work.The visual needs at work, and outside the work is not always the same, and when visual needs at work is compromised it might affect your productivity. During visit to the eye hospital, the eye care practitioner, diagnose and prescribe you spectacles based on your refractive error. What is lacking in this routine eye care practice is "Occupational Visual Needs", i.e. your visual needs at work are not completely understood and taken care of. In occupational optometry services, we evaluate the visual needs of different occupations/jobs and provide with appropriate intervention.

Annual Report 2021 - 22

What do we do?

We take efforts to understand the relationship between eye, work, and work environment by the procedure called Visual Task Analysis. The process aims at acquiring the information on visual demand (need) each job creates on the person at their work. The Optometrist, the eye care professional, collects the details that might influence your visual ability at work, by visiting your work place.

In an industrial set-up, after understanding occupational visual needs, the established vision standards will help the employer to decide if the employee is visually fit to perform the job. If not meeting the visual demand, the employee will be examined and prescribed with appropriate spectacles / visual aids with which he can perform the work efficiently. For any other eye ailments, the employee will be referred to the hospital for further management.

The optometrist will also provide safety eyewear, tints or coatings which will enhance the visual efficiency at work.

What information is needed?

Nature of your job, distance between your eye and the target of work, size of the object you work with, size of work area, lighting levels at work place, presence of any hazardous materials/ chemicals at the work place, and need for personal protective equipment. These information will be processed in optometric language and visual demand for various work/occupations will be established. This visual demand/ need is called as Vision Standards for that task.

Vision Standards

In simple terms, when you acquire driving licence, you will be asked to provide medical certificate saying your vision is 6/18 for distance and you have normal color vision so that you are fit for safe driving. Those pre- determined vision requirement for a particular task is called as Vision Standards and it differs with occupations. Usually these vision standards are arrived for the occupations which involves safety of public at large, example: Army, Navy, Pilot, Railway employees etc. Understanding the visual needs for various occupations will help the eye care practitioner to give more than just a pair of spectacles.

Clinical Services

Pre-employment eye examination

Pre- employment eye examination is performed, and fitness certificate is provided as a part of Railways, Army, Navy, commercial drivers and other industrial employment recruitment.

Along with the recommended examinations for visual fitness certificate, you will undergo comprehensive eye examination that includes power check up, Intraocular pressure check and retinal examination using non-mydriactic fundus camera.

When you are referred for acquiring fitness certificate for color vision as a part of for pre-employment requirement, you will undergo exclusive color vision test based on the occupational needs.

Dispensing Eyewear - An Occupational Approach

1. Occupational Dispensing - Jobs differ and thus a worker's eyesight needs can be catered by task based spectacle lenses with appropriate coatings & filters and custom-made frames.

2. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - BS EN (European Standard adopted as British Standard) standardised eyewear for workplace eye protection against hazards available.

3. Prescription Safety Eyewear - Power incorporated safety wear for range of refractive correction offered.

4. Some of our available international brands include - Essilor, Zeiss, Hoya, Nova, and Bolle.

Color vision testing

Colour vision tests are done to the employees of industries who approach us for a statutory requirement. Mainly FM 100 hue discrimination test is done, which can also be performed at the industrial premises.

At Industries

Statistics - 2021 - 2022 Total No - 850

We provide eye care services to industries / corporate sectors at their premises as off-camps services as a part of their statutory requirement and good will to their employees.

We follow a unique 7 step approach when it comes to off-camps services.

I. Visual Task Analysis (VTA) at work place :

Visual task analysis aims at acquiring the information on visual demand each job creates on the individual worker at the job.

II. Identify the battery of tests :

Based on the visual task analysis of different jobs in work area, battery of tests will be planned and the visual capability and ocular status of the each employee will be documented.

III & IV. Comprehensive eye examination and Matching visual demand to visual ability :

The employees will undergo comprehensive eye examination similar to that of regular eye examination at eye hospital and their visual skills will be assessed if matching the occupational visual demand.

V. Indoctrination and education of employers, employees on vision care, eye safety at work, Personal Protective Equipments (PPE) :

The employees and employer will be educated on importance of regular eye check up and personal protective equipment and their benefit both to the individual and to the organization

VI. Report to the employer :

A report will be submitted to the employer along with the recommendations on spectacles, safety eye wear, lighting and other environmental related issues as observed by the optometrist.

VII. Regular follow-up / periodic eye examination:

This will be done after a period of six months to one year from the time of the report submitted to the employer. The aim of this visit is to see the impact of the service provided by the optometrists. It constitutes the visit to the work area, interaction with the supervisors, employees and the employer.

Community Services

Statistics - 2021 - 2022 Total No - 3011

Unorganized sector:

Almost 93% of the working group of people in India belong to the unorganized sector. This accounts for the need of Corporate Social Responsibility activity to these deserving group of workers.The occupational optometry services cater to the visual needs of the deserving group of unorganised sector workers with CSR funds from various corporate sectors. We in a specific deal with the occupational needs which would enhance their productivity. This novel service not only enhance visual capabilities of individual, it also enlighten the family who is dependent on the workers in unorganised sector. We have served to many unorganised sector under this scheme.

Our previous experience with unorganized sector :

We have worked with about 16 different occupations in unorganized sectors and arrived vision standards for them. The occupations include,

Automobile mechanics
Sculpting - Stone and Metal
Wood carving
Tea plantation
Hairdressing
Salt cultivation
Building construction
Electric and electronic
Tailoring and embroidery designing
Goldsmith

11. Gardening and farming

12. Weaving

13. Drivers - Truck and Auto drivers

14. Watch repairing

15. Women self-help groups

16. Mobile phone assembly

17. Farmers and Agricultural workers

18. Salt pan workers

19. Wooden toy makers

20. Tea Plantation workers

21. Rubber Plantation workers

Awards and Honors

Dr. PP Santanam:

The Indian Association of Occupational Health for his contribution to occupational health in India and internationally gave him in 1995 the 'Best Resource Person Award',Â in the year 2007 honoured him as "Fellow of Indian Association of Occupational Health" and in 2020, bestowed on him "Dr C.K. Ramchandar Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award". He has instituted Awards, one, "Judge. P.V. Parameswara Iyer and Smt. Kamala Bai Endowment Award" for PhD, research and optometry related training, and the other "Dr. S.Ramakrishnan and Smt. Bhagavathy Endowment Award" for occupational eye/vision related research and community services.

Dr. R Krishnakumar:

He was honoured to deliver the Deivasigamani memorial oration in the year 2016 at the Indian association of occupational health (IAOH - TN chapter).

Dr. Rashima Asokan:

In the 69th OCCUCON conference of IAOH (2019) Dr. Rashima Asokan received the "Young scientist award" for the best paper presentation in the National conference OCCUCON 2018. She was awarded the Golden Jubilee medal for her best presentation from Tamil Nadu branch in OCCUCON 2018, at the 67th state annual medical conference of IAOH, Tamil Nadu.

Ms Janani S:

The Ruby banik and Swarnalatha Award for Best Research in Clinical Research 2021 was awarded to Ms Janani S, Senior Optometrist for the paper entitled Visual, ocular profile and perceived impact of photochromatic spectacles among salt pan workers in Marakkanam Town, Tamil Nadu.

Ms Ishwarya S:

In 2nd Indian Vision Institute - Eye Health on Changing world: Received Best oral presentation award on the paper entitled : Association of Life time Ocular UV exposure with Pseudo-exfoliation syndrome - A hospital based study.

In ARVO India - 27th Annual Meeting Indian Eye Research Group (IERG): Ms Ishwarya received award for Best E-Poster Presentation on the paper entitled "Evaluating the effect of ocular UV exposure as a major causative risk factor and risk modeling for pseudo exfoliation syndrome"

IAOH 72nd National Conference - OCCUCON 2022: Received "Young Scientist Award" for the paper entitled "Impact of UV and air pollution on ocular surface disorders with emphasis on cataract and pterygium among outdoor workers"

Team Members

Dr Rashima Asokan - Head of the Department

Ms Janani S - Senior Occupational Optometrist, PhD scholar

Ms Ishwarya S - Research Optometrist

Ms Rupa Nivethikka R - Occupational Optometrist

Mr Syed Ibrahim A - Occupational Optometrist

Dr PP Santanam & Dr R Krishnakumar (Advisors)

Contact

For contact on in office / off-campus occupational optometry services -

write to occupationaloptometry@snmail.org / rashima@snmail.org

For any CSR activities write to rashima@snmail.org

Phone: 044-28271616 - Intercom: 1361 / connect to Dr. Rashima / Ms.Janani S

Mobile: +91-9500062027