Joint initiative maps priorities for UK eye health research
29 May 2024
A new paper published in the journal Eye surveyed 2,240 healthcare professionals, patients, carers, researchers, and charity support workers to determine the top research priorities for eye care in the UK.
The paper, which includes Ailish Murray, director of grants and research at Moorfields Eye Charity as part of the co-author list, highlights glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, childhood vision loss, and short-sightedness as target study areas.
The work also identified the prevention of conditions like cataracts and glaucoma, as well as the need for better integration of primary and secondary eye care, as priorities for the next five years.
Led by Professor Rupert Bourne from Cambridge University Hospital and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), and conducted by the UK Clinical Eye Research Strategy (CERS) group, this work updates the research priorities set by the James Lind Alliance (JLA) Sight and Vision Loss Priority Setting Partnership (SVLPSP) in 2013.
The results of this survey provide a crucial refresh of the most important research questions, a decade after the initial Priority Setting Partnership.
Rupert Bourne, lead author and professor of ophthalmology
Despite advances in ophthalmology, many questions about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of eye conditions remain.
The paper summarises that several areas of eye care should be prioritised for research in order to advance treatment and prevention in the UK. These included:
- A focus on prevention strategies for cataracts
- Advancements in microbial keratitis treatment of the cornea
- Enhanced integration of ophthalmic primary and secondary care
- Development and/or progression research for refractive error
- Early detection initiatives for childhood eye care diseases
- Improved treatment modalities for glaucoma
- Neuro-ophthalmology: Holistic approach to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
- Innovative strategies for dry age-related macular degeneration
- Exploration of new treatments for inflammatory diseases such as uveitis
Funding for eye research is limited so it is important to identify the questions of highest clinical importance, so that research targeting greatest needs can be well invested in for the benefit of patients and public in the future.
The UK Clinical Eye Research Strategy is funded by Fight for Sight, Macular Society, Moorfields Eye Charity and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
