{"id":77832,"date":"2024-11-27T12:27:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T19:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=77832"},"modified":"2024-11-27T12:27:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T19:27:18","slug":"a-sight-for-sore-eyes-post-secondary-benefits-needed-more-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2024\/11\/27\/a-sight-for-sore-eyes-post-secondary-benefits-needed-more-than-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"A sight for sore eyes: post-secondary benefits needed more than ever"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eyes on the prize:<\/strong> Dr. Karen Hodgins shows off the glasses for sale at Modern Eye eye clinic in West Hillhurst on October 11, 2024. Hodgins is among the optometrists keeping an eye on the trend of increasing nearsightedness. (Photo by Catrina Bowles\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

B<\/span>ig Foot, the Loch Ness monster, the chupacabra \u00a0all cryptids discussed in hushed \u2018what if\u2019s’.<\/p>\n

In a few decades, we may have to add another to the list: 20\/20 vision.<\/p>\n

Nearsightedness, or myopia, is becoming increasingly common worldwide<\/a>. The likely causes are extended near focus, such as looking at screens, and spending less time spent outside, said Dr. Karen Hodgins, an optometrist working in Calgary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re looking at something, the closer it is, the harder the muscle is working,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you\u2019re looking at something far away … your eyes are doing far less work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because their eyes are still growing, kids and teens are more likely to develop myopia.\u00a0 The COVID-19 pandemic made matters worse, when kids of all ages sat in front of computers to attend their classes or chat with their friends.<\/p>\n

Four years later, many who were young teens during the COVID-19 restrictions are now attending post-secondary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got glasses during the pandemic,\u201d said Palak, a first-year international student at SAIT. \u201cDuring the pandemic, I got my first mobile phone.<\/p>\n

“I was spending the whole day on the mobile phone and laptop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping up with regular eye exams gets harder and harder when students enter post-secondary. Tuition is expensive, and many students age out of their parent\u2019s healthcare plan while they\u2019re in school.<\/p>\n

This is all in addition to a hefty course load, and for some, the demands of work and family.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents are extremely busy,\u201d said Hodgins. \u201cI think they\u2019re very good at compensating [for poor eyesight]. You just go sit in the front row of class.\u201d<\/p>\n

To combat these challenges, many post-secondary institutions have health care benefits through student unions. Students pay a student association fee as part of their tuition, which goes towards their healthcare benefits.<\/p>\n

At the University of Calgary, for instance, students can get 100 per cent coverage up to $50 for an eye exam, and up to $150 for glasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to [students’] academic commitments, they often can’t maintain the kind of employment that would entitle them to benefits independently,\u201d Naomie Bakana, vice-president internal for the University of Calgary Student Union, said in an emailed statement. \u201cThat’s why the SU’s health and dental plan provides this safety net at a transitional point in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

SAIT is another institution with a healthcare plan through the student association, SAITSA.<\/p>\n

SAIT students enjoy vision coverage similar to their University of Calgary counterparts, but they have up to $100 in coverage for eye exams.<\/p>\n

Unlike the University of Calgary, SAIT doesn\u2019t have an on-campus eye clinic actively reminding students about their vision coverage through catchy advertisements. At most, there\u2019s a few posters on already-packed bulletin boards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never really knew about it,\u201d said\u00a0 first-year SAIT business student Mark Peneyra, who wears glasses.<\/p>\n

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Keep your eyes peeled:<\/strong> Dr. Karen Hodgins demonstrates the function of the eye with an anatomical model in the exam room of Modern Eye eye clinic in West Hillhurst on October 11, 2024. Hodgins used to work at the Vision Campus eye clinic on the University of Calgary campus. (Photo by Catrina Bowles\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Big Foot, the Loch Ness monster, the chupacabra; all cryptids discussed in hushed \u2018what if\u2019s. And in a few decades, we may have to add another to the list: 20\/20 vision. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":920,"featured_media":77833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"Eye health back to school CB","footnotes":""},"categories":[1106,1580,2,510],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-77832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-physical-health-and-wellness","8":"category-post-secondary","9":"category-campus-2","10":"category-saitsa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77832"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78476,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77832\/revisions\/78476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}