Oct. 24, 2024 — The World Council of Optometry (WCO) and Alcon have made their Dry Eye Wheel, a tool for diagnosing and treating dry eye disease, available in Spanish. Developed by professors Jennifer Craig, Ph.D., BSc, FCOptom, MSc; Lyndon Jones, Ph.D, BSc, FCOptom, FAAO, FIACLE, FBCLA; and James Wolffsohn, MBA, Ph.D., BSc, the interactive tool provides quick access to guidelines on mitigating, measuring, and managing dry eye symptoms. The Spanish version is now accessible for free here.

The Dry Eye Wheel is part of an educational initiative between WCO and Alcon aimed at enhancing understanding of dry eye disease among optometrists by sharing the latest research on dry eye with clinical and academic professionals. Dry eye affects 41% of people in Mexico and 13% of those in Brazil, WCO shares, underscoring the need for resources tailored to the Latin American region.

The Spanish-language version complements recent research efforts, including the publication of the Latin American Consensus on Ocular Lubricants and Dry Eye in the journal Oftalmología Clínica y Experimental. This work focuses on creating diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines for dry eye, with an emphasis on the proper use of lubricants.

“It was imperative that the wheel be available in Spanish, since it’s one of the most widely spoken languages in the world,” says WCO president Sandra S. Block, O.D., M.Ed., MPH, FAAO. “This latest development affirms WCO’s continued commitment to education around the diagnosis and treatment of dry eye disease. We are grateful to Alcon for their continued partnership in the fight against this global epidemic.”

The wheel’s Spanish translation was provided in collaboration with Colegio Federación Colombiana de Optómetras – Fedopto.

For more on managing multilingual training in practice, head to EB’s Staff Hiring, Training + Retention column in the October edition.