Challenges faced by women in optometry while delivering community eye care services

India has a population of more than 1.40 billion with a humongous need for community eye health services. Understanding challenges faced by female optometrists in community eye care will help us address the needs and eventually improve eye and vision care services. The study also aims to give recommendations to policymakers and to leadership in hospitals that provide community eye health services and employ female optometrists.

The study aimed to understand the challenges faced by women in optometry while delivering community eye care services.

Optometrists working in community eye health were invited to participate in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted using a semistructured questionnaire. The interviews were recorded, and the audio files were transcribed to text and analyzed using the MAXQDA-10 software. Data analysis was performed based on thematic codes and responses received from the participants.

Eighteen optometrists completed the interviews, and the average age of the female optometrists who participated in the study was 36.4 ± 6.5 years. The average experiences in overall optometry work and community eye health were 14.3 ± 5.9 and 9.5 ± 5.3 years, respectively. The qualitative analysis revealed that women faced several challenges from basic logistics to gender bias, from the communities they served, and from within the organization's peers. Their work-life balance also faced challenges including their social lives. The enablers and motivating factors were job satisfaction, learning experience, and career growth.

The study describes several challenges faced by female optometrists in community eye health, from the lack of basic facilities to gender bias among peers and challenging work-life balance. Despite this, women are happy to contribute to community work, as they find the experience rewarding, both emotionally and professionally.