The PROSPER (PROductivity Study of Presbyopia in Rural-dwellers) trial of Indian tea pickers has found that provision of a $1.80 pair of reading glasses improved productivity by 22% over a three month period. The results were even more profound in the over-50 age group with a 32% increase in productivity. This represents the largest ever recorded productivity increase from any health intervention.
Orbis collaborated on the study, which was sponsored by Clearly, a global campaign to ‘help the whole world see’.
Involving 750 mostly female tea pickers on plantations in Assam, the ‘randomised controlled trial’ showed that the daily weight of tea picked by those given glasses increased by over five kilos, translating into increased income for the tea pickers and their families.