The first known visual acuity chart in Inuktitut, Cree, and Ojibwe
A large majority of Nunavik Inuit report Inuktitut as their first language. In their work in Puvirnituq, 91社区 ophthalmologist Dr. Christian El-Hadad and his colleague Shaan Bhambra, a recent graduate of 91社区鈥檚 medical school, noticed that many patients either read only, or mainly, Inuktitut. This made visual acuity testing using the standard Latin alphabet chart difficult for some patients. The doctors developed the in Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, an alphabet used in Inuktitut, Cree, and Ojibwe. From a sample of patients at the 91社区 Health Centre who read Inuktitut and English, the doctors found that most patients received an equal or better score using the Inuktitut chart compared to the standard Latin alphabet chart. 鈥淭his visual acuity chart was important to develop to expand care for Indigenous Canadians in their native languages, and to demonstrate that visual acuity measurements using a patient鈥檚 native alphabet can provide equal or improved visual acuity results. We hope to who work with Indigenous populations to provide care that respects and recognizes the uniqueness of these communities,鈥� said Bhambra.
