News Briefs Archive

Transitions Optical Introduces Mandarin Bilingual Diagnosis Guide

Transitions Optical is adding to its bilingual eyecare guide series with a new tool to help English-speaking eyecare professionals enhance communication with Mandarin-speaking patients during the diagnosis of an eye disease or vision problem.

The What to Expect: Diagnosis Guide, with content in side-by-side English and Simplified Mandarin, features six stackable cards depicting the eye health issues most common among Asian Americans: diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, cataract, hypertensive retinopathy, glaucoma and myopia. Each of the cards includes an overview of the eye health issue, types or stages, treatment options and vision wear recommendations. Each card also features illustrations and images representing how the patient’s field of vision may be affected by each eye disease or condition. The cards are housed in an 8-by-11 inch easel-back folder that can be displayed easily in the exam room.

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic minority population in the US, and a growing percentage of patients for many eyecare professionals. Nielsen Universe Estimates have confirmed that while most Asian Americans can understand English, 77 percent speak a language other than English at home. Taking the extra step of offering bilingual education tools is not only a way for eyecare professionals to ease communication barriers during the eye appointment, but also can help to show respect for the Asian-American culture.

“We designed the bilingual guide series so that even if the eyecare professional doesn’t speak the same language, he or she can simply point to the content in English and then the patient can read more about an eye health issue in their native language,” says Manuel Solis, marketing manager, labs and strategic partnerships, Transitions Optical. “In addition to using the guide as an in-office tool, we also encourage eyecare professionals to go to MyMulticulturalToolkit.com and print out PDF versions of the individual cards, which can be given to patients as a take-home reference about the eye health issue.”

A similar version of the What to Expect: Diagnosis Guide is also available in English/Spanish, over-viewing the eye health issues more common among Hispanics. Eyecare professionals can request printed copies of the Diagnosis Guide and other multicultural resources free-of-charge through the “My Practice” section of MyMulticulturalToolkit.com.

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