Delhi,-,February,26:,Old,Man,Stitching,In,Local,Indian

Prosper III

Background issues

Data from the International Labour Organization shows that the rate of having a job among people over the age of 40 in low- and middle-income countries is declining. PROSPER I demonstrated that the provision of free reading spectacles significantly improved the productivity of agricultural workers on a tea plantation over the course of a harvest season. In PROSPER III we will assess whether free glasses are able to extend the productive working life of workers (i.e. increase retention) in textile factories in Bangalore, India.

Trial design

PROSPER III (PROductivity Study of Presbyopia Elimination in Rural-dwellers) is a randomised controlled trial that will evaluate whether providing glasses to textile workers in India will lead to an increase in workplace retention. 1,260 consenting adults age 30 years or older with uncorrected presbyopia will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or control group.  People in the intervention group will receive reading glasses at the beginning of the trial, and people in the control group will receive free glasses at the end of the trial if they need them.

Outcomes

We will analyse the difference in the proportion of textile workers who continue to work at the textile factories in the control and intervention groups.

A successful trial will demonstrate that providing eye examinations and glasses to adult presbyopic workers in the garment industry will allow them to remain engaged in the workforce for longer, improving their economic potential and benefiting their families.

Timeline

18 months.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04654013