Around half the world’s population is projected to be myopic (or nearsighted) by 2050! Today's guest says that, far from being insurmountable, preventing or delaying the onset of myopia is possible.Dr. Debbie Jones recommends that group benefits administrators and wellness coordinators help their employees consider outdoor time and screen time plans for their children. She also describes a range of therapies that are available to slow myopia progression, including specialized contact lenses and eyeglasses, as well as eye drops.A new podcast designed for non-medical listeners explains the reasons behind the global childhood myopia epidemic and what that means for Canadian families. Featuring Dr. Debbie Jones, a clinical scientist from the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) and internationally known myopia expert, the 22-minute discussion is part of the Don’t Lose Sight interview series from the Canadian Association of Optometrists.The work Debbie and her team do is close to my family's heart and when I received a press release about the new pod, I had to get Debbie on the show. Questions For Debbie Include:What is pediatric myopia… and why should the HR community care?What’s the impact of childhood myopia to employers?Is this kind of health care covered by most benefits plans? While half the world’s population is projected to be myopic by 2050, the crisis is already evident in Canada. Dr. Jones notes that recent work showed a 30% prevalence among 11- to 13-year-olds in the Waterloo-Kitchener region. Remarkably, one-third of those children’s caregivers were unaware of the problem until the research project uncovered the condition. How can employers better educate employees? What do HR teams perhaps not understand about childhood myopia?What can organizations do to encourage that employees’ children received eye exams?What’s ahead for the field of myopia control?You would encourage parents to have their children's eyes examined regularly by an optometrist, so that problems can be identified as early as possible.We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast and Iceni Media Inc.   Support the showFeature Your Brand on the HRchat PodcastThe HRchat show has had 100,000s of downloads and is frequently listed as one of the most popular global podcasts for HR pros, Talent execs and leaders. It is ranked in the top ten in the world based on traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness. The podcast is also ranked as the Best Canadian HR Podcast by FeedSpot and one of the top 10% most popular shows by Listen Score. Want to share the story of how your business is helping to shape the world of work? We offer sponsored episodes, audio adverts, email campaigns, and a host of other options. Check out packages here. Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our newsletter Check out our in-person events