Eye health
Eye Health
New treatments for eye disease, such as gene therapy, have the potential to give previously unimaginable improvements in vision, but what is the effect on patients' mental health when they experience such a large change in the way they perceive the world? Dr Michael Crossland aims to improve the wellbeing of children and adolescents receiving sight restoring therapy.
The emotional impact of children and adolescents receiving sight-restoring treatment is not well understood. Despite this treatment causing a significant change to the way that young patients perceive the world, we don't know how to best support young people receiving this treatment, and what can happen to young people's mental health if their treatment does not meet expectations.
In this study, funded by the Foundation and Moorfields Eye Charity, Dr Michael Crossland and his team at University College London will examine young people receiving sight-restoring treatment at Moorfields and Great Ormond Street Hospitals. They will use interviews and well-validated questionnaires to fully explore the impact of this treatment on the mental health and wellbeing of young patients and their families. For the first time, Dr Crossland will develop evidence-based clinical guidelines for the emotional support of young people receiving this type of treatment.
Dr Crossland's team is multidisciplinary, including world leaders in optometry, clinical psychology, child health and ophthalmology, as well as those with lived experience of vision impairment. Together, Dr Crossland and his team will ensure that young people receiving this exciting treatment will have the best possible emotional outcomes.