https://www.jclrs.org/index.php/JCLRS <p>The Journal of Contact Lens Research and Science (JCLRS) publishes research and scholarly contributions that inform the development, implementation, and evaluation of practice, research, education, leadership in contact lens science and research.&nbsp; JCLRS provides a platform for researchers and practitioners to&nbsp;share knowledge in the form of high-quality research papers, case studies, and book reviews; All content is published in an Open Access format and all content is freely available for anyone to view, read and use in a non-commercial manner. We are seeking quality manuscripts related to all aspects of contact lens research and science, including but not limited to multifocal lenses, myopia control, scleral lenses, irregular cornea correction, drug-eluting lenses, corneal reshaping, wave-front contact lenses, therapeutic lenses, and tinted lenses. As of June 1, 2017 the JCLRS &nbsp;became a recognized journal of the Scleral Lens Education Society! &nbsp;SLS members receive a reduced article processing charge of US $299 Please note that you are an SLS member when submitting a manuscript for consideration to qualifiy for the reduce APC.</p> <p>&nbsp;ISSN 2561-3103</p> <p>This Journal is published by The Dougmar Publishing Group Inc. <a href="http://www.thedougmargroup.com">www.thedougmargroup.com</a></p> <p align="center"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=qrbmy7yab&amp;p=oi&amp;m=1126246516272&amp;sit=jj5ztnalb&amp;f=39454a55-e11e-4f62-8be3-8154f4850075">Sign up to receive the latest information on JCLRS!</a></strong></span></p> The Dougmar Publishing Group Inc. www.thedougmargroup.com en-US Journal of Contact lens Research and Science 2561-3103 <p align="justify"><span style="color: rgba(0,0,0,0.870588); font-family: 'Noto Sans',-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;">Copyright of articles published in all DPG titles is retained by the author(s). The author(s) grants DPG the rights to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher. The author grants DPG exclusive commercial rights to the article. <span style="text-align: justify; color: rgba(0,0,0,0.870588); font-family: 'Noto Sans',-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;">The author grants any party the rights to use the article freely for non-commercial purposes provided that the original work is properly cited.</span></span></p> https://www.jclrs.org/index.php/JCLRS/article/view/56 <p><strong>Background and Objective:</strong> Amidst the myopia epidemic, the number of contact lens (CL) users is steadily increasing, especially youngsters. Many CL practitioners presume optimum knowledge and good practice of CL usage by medical professionals. With rising complications and a significant dropout rate, there is a need to investigate the knowledge (K), attitudes (A), and practices (P) among CL users. This study aimed to assess the K, A, and P in CL users registered in various programs in a university. We hypothesized no difference between K, A, and P in CL users with medical (M) and non-medical (N) academic backgrounds.</p> <p><strong>Methods and Materials:</strong> A pre-validated questionnaire, consisting of 19 questions on knowledge, 9 questions on attitude, and 30 questions on practice, was distributed among the university students admitted to various programs, excluding optometry, through an online survey tool. Inferences were drawn using a Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test to compare the M and N groups, with a predetermined significance of 0.05. Spearman’s correlation gave a relationship between the K, A, and P of CL users.</p> <p><br><strong>Results:</strong> Out of 1041 (M=146 and N=895) valid responses, 476 (45.7%) respondents had prior experience or were CL users. The prevalence of CL users was a little higher in the N group (M=39.0%; N=46.8%) but statistically not significant (χ²=3.057, df=1, p&gt;0.05). The knowledge about CL hygiene and complications was not significantly different between the two groups (U=10370, z=–1.645, p&gt;0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the attitude towards CL wear and care (U=9268, z= –2.751, p&lt;0.05) and practice of lens wear and care (U=8770, z=–3.318, p&lt;0.05). For all the respondents, a weak correlation between knowledge and practice was observed (r=0.137, p&lt;0.05), and a fair to strong correlation in medical respondents (r=0.465, p&lt;0.05). For the non-medical student group, a statistically significant weak correlation was found between attitude and practice (r=0.110, p&lt;0.05).</p> Seuk Theng Leong Fakhruddin Shamsheer Barodawala Vidyut Rajhans Copyright (c) 2024 Leong Suek Theng, Fakhruddin Shamsheer Barodawala, Vidyut Rajhans http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2024-02-07 2024-02-07 8 1 e1 e19 10.22374/jclrs.v8i1.56 https://www.jclrs.org/index.php/JCLRS/article/view/58 <p><strong>Purpose:</strong> To assess the relationship between eye care practitioners and contact lens patients and to<br>determine how empathy is associated with patients’ overall satisfaction.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> Multilingual electronic surveys shared by email and on social media in patients’ and practitioners’ groups. Ratings were converted to a numerical scale. The scores were compared using Wilcoxon rank sum tests.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> The survey had 804 responses: 68.4% were over 46 years old, and 58.1% were female. Only 770 reported the type of contact lens worn. Of all patients, 10.6% would not recommend their physician due to feeling excluded from decisions (55.3%), lack of personal interest (63.5%), no written recommendations (84%), and unmet expectations (77%). Scleral lens wearers were highly satisfied. Optometrists excelled in care, ratings, relationships, communication, symptom relief, and prevention.</p> <p><strong>Discussion:</strong> The findings highlight the importance of empathy in eye care and its impact on patient experiences. Factors such as contact lens type, physician recommendation, and physician type can influence the level of empathy perceived by patients. Satisfaction varied based on contact lens type, with soft and scleral lens wearers reporting better experiences. Patients valued physicians who listened, explained treatments, showed empathy, and had patient-centered communication and open-ended questions. Optometrists were scored higher than ophthalmologists in several aspects.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Patients, especially scleral lens patients, were generally satisfied with the services and care. Optometrists scored higher than ophthalmologists. Patients would not recommend their physicians mainly because of a lack of empathy.</p> Daddi Fadel Rute J Macedo-de-Araújo Melissa Barnett Copyright (c) 2024 Daddi Fadel, Rute J Macedo-de-Araújo, Melissa Barnett http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2024-03-22 2024-03-22 8 1 20 36 10.22374/jclrs.v8i1.58