Healthy Athletes World Games goals realized

29 June 2003

After nine days of operation, the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® initiative's goal of screening 50 percent of registered athletes at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games has been met and surpassed. In fact, Healthy Athletes set a new record for screenings during a World Summer Games. A team of volunteer dentists are performing dental examinations on any Special Olympics athlete who chooses to take part in the Healthy Athletes screenings available at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. [Photo by Dr. Stephen Corbin] According to Dr. Mark Wagner, Special Olympics Director of Health & Research Initiatives, more than 3,600 athletes have gone through at least one screening, and the doctors have conducted some 10,000 screenings in all. Some of the findings from the screenings include: 43 percent of athletes screened did not pass their vision screening and 30 percent of screened athletes have needed prescription eyewear; Nearly 50 percent of screened athletes have needed more than routine dental care, including 15 percent requiring urgent care and 12 percent reporting pain at the time of the screening; 30 percent have failed the hearing screening; and 14 percent of athletes identified for osteoporosis screening have an indication of compromised bone health. Members of the Special Olympics Brazil team gather with Vittoria Smania (seated at right) of Sàfilo® Group of Padova, Italy. Sàfilo is providing all sunglasses and eyeglass frames in a 3-year global partnership. [Photo by Dr. Stephen Corbin] More than 700 volunteer health professionals from around the world, as well as dozens of other volunteers, including Lions Clubs members, are delivering badly needed care. (Lions Clubs International is the official sponsor of Special Olympics' vision screening program, Special Olympics-Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes™.) More than 100 of these health professionals will return to home countries and communities to implement Healthy Athletes initiatives in conjunction with Special Olympics Programs. Athletes participating in the Healthy Athletes screenings are receiving valuable services. Some 700 athletes have received eyeglasses and 160 have received protective eyewear (Sàfilo Group of Italy is providing sunglasses and eyeglass frames through a three-year global partnership, and Essilor International of France is the official global supplier of ophthalmic lenses). Protective mouth guards have been provided to 350 athletes at risk of oral injury. Dr. Wagner mentioned two examples of athletes who required more immediate care. "A Special Olympics Thailand athlete's vision was saved by the quick response of local ophthalmologists working in the Opening Eyes venue. He was in urgent need of care for glaucoma, and the screening allowed us to discover and treat this very serious problem." He added that a young Special Olympics Afghanistan athlete was discovered to have an urgent dental problem — two abscessed teeth — that could have threatened her participation in the Games had it not been detected. Stan Shepherd of BetterHealth Global, right, and two of the Healthy Athletes volunteers use handheld computers to transmit data over a wireless network to a central computer database, allowing "real-time" tracking and accurate recording of screening results. Shepherd has provided the advanced technology used at the venue. [Photo by Dr. Stephen Corbin] Dr. Stephen Corbin, Dean of Special Olympics University, which administers Healthy Athletes, noted that technology is playing an important role in these World Games screenings. Volunteer health care professionals are entering screening data into handheld computers and transmitting the data over a wireless network to a central computer database. "The handheld devices allow 'real-time' tracking and more accurate recording of screening results, which helps us do a more efficient job of monitoring the process," he said. The Healthy Athletes screenings are an important part of the World Games experience for athletes, who often do not receive regular or adequate health care. As Dr. Corbin explained, “We are seeing athletes who are functionally blind or deaf, who have active infections in their mouth, including abscesses, and who have acute eye disease requiring immediate attention. These services provide immediate care in some instances and, importantly, longer-term benefits too. This World Games Healthy Athletes program can help stimulate global growth of Healthy Athletes down to the local level, even into rural and somewhat remote situations.