Seva Canada recognizes that, while eye care program capacity has grown rapidly in terms of the number of patients accessing services, monitoring, evaluation and research capacity has lagged behind in most low- and middle-income settings. Also lagging behind are institutional systems to use the research findings to improve the quality of care, equity of service delivery to the entire population, and financial self­sustainability. As a result, Seva Canada has trained our in-country staff and partners to conduct their own original research. 

 
^{Roshan Bista and Sophan Vin From Seva Cambodia}

Cambodian Woman Having Her Vision Tested by a Field Worker

More specifically, Roshan showed that a new model using outreach 'camps' staffed by ophthalmic nurses doubled the number of appropriately treated patients compared to the existing field worker program. 

Sophon Running an Eye Health Awareness Session

Sophon, meanwhile, showed that the Eye Health Awareness Sessions (EHAS) that provide information to community leaders about the causes of blindness and services available resulted in a seven-fold increase in the number of people attending the hospital for cataract surgery. 

Congratulations to Seva Cambodia, Roshan, and Sophan, for using their research training to improve eye care in Cambodia!