Given that strabismus is not a well-known eye condition, it’s not surprising that few people know that having strabismus/a squint can seriously impact social mobility and employment. I fear that this knowledge gap is not restricted to the general public; funders of private and public healthcare vary in their support of strabismus surgery, just as there is confusion over whether or not strabismus is simply a cosmetic condition. To be clear, strabismus is not simply a cosmetic condition.
When I did an internet search using the term ‘strabismus and employment’ I came across the research below by Mojon-Azzi (Stefania Mojon-Azzi and Daniel Mojon) on Wiley Online Library. I am grateful to have found this interesting research and would like to thank the authors for their work. Please take the time to read this, it has some very interesting insights.
Strabismus and employment: the opinion of headhunters – Mojon‐Azzi – 2009 – Acta Ophthalmologica
(go to http://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com to read the free article).
The issue of strabismus and how it affects patients’ life chances, work opportunities, social mobility needs to be recognised if strabismus patients are to get the support they need and deserve.
The Mojon-Azzi research also discusses the fact that strabismus is considered to be a cosmetic condition by some health insurers and managed care providers and they will not pay for strabismus surgery. This view is not unusual, and illustrates part of the problem for those who care for strabismus patients.
There will be more posts from various stakeholders on this important topic in the future.