Budget

The 23/24 budget is available for download in .XLSX format here.

Budget Assumptions

Budget for the proposed study is based on screening 10,000 to 12,000 students ranging in age from 7-18 years of age. They will be from diverse ethnic, cultural, and financial backgrounds representing a heterogeneous cross section of our society.  This will require coordination with the School Districts and County, Tribal and local Health Departments.  These partners are not staffed to complete the study and therefore we have solicited the help of Lions Club members.  All members performing acuity tests will undergo a background check and be certified by Prevent Blindness, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the community through organizations like the Lions Clubs to assist in efforts to improve vision in our communities. Volunteers will conform to school district privacy and security policies, including uniformed clothing and other measures. This greatly relieves the stress of the school staff when many strangers are walking around the campus.

 

Research Pilot

The research methodology developed with the Medical College of Wisconsin and approved by their Institutional Review Board (IRB) was piloted in 2019 with a group of 2,336 students from 11 schools in Northeast Wisconsin.  Each student was screened utilizing 3 methods:  a photorefractor, a critical line tumbling E chart at a 20-foot distance and the standard acuity chart at a 20-foot distance.  Each student who failed one or more of the eye exams was referred to an optometrist as part of the study to validate the referral for an eye exam and consultative follow up. This examination was performed without the optometrist knowing the reason for the referral.  The results from each student’s three eye tests along with the optometrist’s results were statistically analyzed, and the pilot project’s results were very promising, prompting the need for a larger validation study to confirm statistical validity. Funding for the initial study was an in-kind contribution by the Medical College of Wisconsin, MCW Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment, local Lions Club volunteers, and Prevea Health, who donated the optometric services for follow up consultations with the students.

Key Expenses

Project Administration:

The Principal Investigator will oversee the technical direction and academic quality of the project. Dr. Matthew Hunsaker MD FAAFP from the Green Bay campus of the Medical College of Wisconsin was the Principal Investigator (PI) for the Pilot and would be welcomed back to complete the project pending availability.
Clinical Research Coordinator:
An experienced clinical research coordinator will oversee all coordination of data collection and maintain research standards for the project. Duration of Project is 2 years.   This is a part-time position with the person requiring 50 to 60% of their time and will include the following:

  • To review/revise the research protocol and submit for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval ensuring proper school and parental permissions are documented and in compliance with applicable standards and regulations.
  • Oversee and manage the entire research activity.
  • Collect all the data sheets and submit them to Strategic Research Institute (SRI) for analysis.
  • Prepare the research results for peer review and journal publication.

Clinical Research Coordinator:

An experienced clinical research coordinator will oversee all coordination of data collection and maintain research standards for the project. Duration of Project is 2 years.   This is a part-time position with the person requiring 50 to 60% of their time and will include the following:

  •  To review/revise the research protocol and submit for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval ensuring proper school and parental permissions are documented and in compliance with applicable standards and regulations. 
  • Oversea and manage the entire research activity.
  • Collect all the data sheets and submit them to Strategic Research Institute (SRI) for analysis.
  • Prepare the research results for peer review and journal publication.

 

Professional Optometric Services:

An Optometrist with two assistants will validate the accuracy of the screening results for any student that fails any of the three vision screening tests. That validation process will either be on-site or scheduled for a later date at the discretion of the optometric staff. (Prevea Health provided support for the Pilot, and they would be welcomed back.) Duration of the screening phase is 9 months.

 

Equipment & Supplies:

  • Photorefractors:   The Welch Allyn photorefractor will be utilized for study purposes. An alternative would be the PlusOptix photorefractor.  Both the PlusOptix and Welch Allyn units produce similar results but to ensure a standardized comparison is administered between the pilot and study, the Welch Allyn unit is preferred.
  • Optometric exam equipment.
    • Ophthalmoscope
    • Retinoscope
    • Phoropter
    • Portable Phoropter Stand
    • Snellen Chart
    • Trial lenses of various powers
  • Chart screening equipment
    • Eye Chart Illuminated Cabinets
    • Disposable Vision Occluders
  • Supplies
    • Printing/copies/paper
    • Tissues for student use
    • Pens for recording screening results

County and School Resources

To reduce costs, we will be partnering with the local/county/tribal health departments as they conduct
their normal vision screenings using the Standard Acuity chart.   Their expenses associated with the
county and school resources will be documented and noted as an in-kind budget expense.   The Lions
Clubs will be providing volunteer resources to assist in screening for the two additional tests: the
photorefractor and the visual acuity chart tumbling E critical Line.

Accounting

The Lions Club of Dyckesville Foundation Inc, will be the fiduciary for the administration of all study funds.  The board of directors will have the responsibility to oversee and approve all expenses associated with the study.

Data Analysis

To ensure unbiased data analysis Strategic Resources Institute – St Norbert college provided support and analysis of the data for the pilot study and will be utilized to collect and analyze the results of the study for public distribution.

Volunteers and Recruiting the Volunteers

There will be roughly 70- 80 days of vision screening which will require a minimum of 15 Lions volunteers per day.  Based on experience with the pilot study, this will require a pool of approximately 100 volunteers to rotate through the study.  As noted above, each volunteer will have a background check and be issued a Lions EYES shirt to be worn during the study.  To obtain roughly 100 Lions to staff the project, we will need to travel to many of the 67 area Lions Clubs to explain the study and recruit volunteers.  During the pilot phase, 31 Lions Club members provided 923 hours of volunteer time screening seven schools. Lions volunteers were responsible for all additional setup and tear down requirements for the testing.  The budget includes travel reimbursement for volunteers, as well as on-site meals to reduce workload for school security staff.

Study Results

All the data analysis will be performed by SRI (Strategic Resources Inc.) and presented to the researchers.  If the analysis of the research data shows a statistically valid result, a research paper will be prepared and submitted to a professional journal for peer review and publication.

Impact of the Study

In the United States there are approximately 53 million school age children, and it is estimated that 25% of them have some sort of vision issue, with less than 10% receiving treatment.  Identification and treatment of vision screening issues is HUGE and has long term benefits from learning in school and becoming productive members of society. Good vision is a requisite for children's health, physical, and social development. If the study results validate that the photorefractor screens as well as the manually administered acuity chart, the impact on society would be significant.  School systems could change their screening to be performed on school picture day eliminating class disruption for a separate screening and minimizing time and cost while working toward having every student screened every year from pre-K through 12th grade.