With our partners, Orbis is expanding the number of women in the eye health workforce by providing training and support. This has dual benefits of closing the gender gap and improving access to treatment as women in many cultures are more likely to seek care from women providers.
In 2021, we worked with Women In Ophthalmology and Seva Foundation to create “Women Leaders in Eye Health” (WLEH), a global virtual space and webinar series for women eye professionals to come together and strengthen their leadership. Global data collected during WLEH from 2021 to 2023 found that women cite cultural gender bias (25% avg.), education levels (18.5% avg.), leadership skills (54.25% avg.), and networking (52% avg.) as impacting promotion to leadership roles.
In 2022, we led a unique training project designed specifically to empower women eye care professionals living in conflict-affected areas. The project brought together ophthalmologists and nurses from Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen on our Flying Eye Hospital, a fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an aircraft. Guided by our clinical team and an all-women group of volunteer medical experts, the participants worked with cutting-edge simulation devices, such as virtual reality, artificial eyes, and life-like manikins, to develop the skills to fight avoidable causes of vision loss. The complex surgical and nursing techniques they honed served to enhance their knowledge and support their work with patients.
Through Cybersight, Orbis’s award-winning telemedicine and e-learning platform, we provide training and education tools to medical professionals around the world. In a recent survey of Cybersight users, 30% of women respondents said that they experience challenges that men do not in accessing eye healthcare training. Cybersight helps women eye care professionals overcome those challenges by providing affordable, convenient ways to advance their career while continuing to fulfill their multiple roles and caregiving responsibilities.
The platform is accessible from anywhere, at any time, using a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. Cybersight’s advanced features, including long-distance mentoring and an artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostic tool, are available for free for eye care professionals in low- and-middle-income countries.
Cybersight has been a valuable resource for Dr. Hannah Prasanth, a general ophthalmologist based in Puducherry, India. When she finished her post-graduate studies, she wanted to pursue a fellowship, but explained that, with two small children, it would have been difficult. Ultimately, she opted for online learning via Cybersight so she could learn when she had free time.