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In 2023, Latinos en Optometry (LEO) launched their inauguration event at Vision Expo East in New York. “It’s been a busy year for LEO, and we are so grateful for the support from our sponsors, partners and members,” said Diana Canto-Sims, OD, co-founder and board member. She added, “As eyecare professionals, it’s important to acknowledge why diversity, equity and inclusion in vision care for the Hispanic and Latino community are crucial to ensure culturally competent vision care, address specific eyecare needs, and bridge gaps in access, ultimately promoting better eye health for everyone.”





Effective communication between an optometrist and a Spanish-speaking patient is crucial for several reasons, as Dr. Canto-Sims explains:

Accurate Assessment: Understanding a patient’s vision concerns requires clear communication. A language barrier can lead to misunderstandings about symptoms or issues, potentially affecting the accuracy of the assessment.

Correct Prescription: Precision is vital in determining the correct eyeglasses or contact lenses prescription. Miscommunication may result in an inaccurate prescription, impacting the patient’s vision.

Patient Education: Proper communication is necessary to educate the patient about their eye health, any conditions or concerns, and the importance of regular eyecare. Without clear communication, the patient might not fully grasp how to care for their eyes.

Informed Decision-Making: For procedures or treatment options, a patient needs to comprehend the benefits, risks and expected outcomes. Effective communication is vital to ensuring the patient can make informed decisions.

What we are doing about this challenge: One of our goals at LEO is to provide eyecare professionals with Spanish resources and tools for non-Latino (or non-Spanish speaking) ECPs to communicate effectively with their Spanish-speaking patients for accurate assessment, treatment, education and follow-up.

Comfort and Trust: Building a rapport with the patient is crucial for excellent eyecare. Effective communication helps establish trust and comfort, creating a positive patient-doctor relationship. Patients will share more about their medical history if they trust their doctor and feel comfortable.

Cultural sensitivity and competence: Spanish-speaking patients might have cultural differences in understanding and approaching health care. Effective communication can bridge these gaps, ensuring the optometrist understands and respects the patient’s cultural context.

Also, LEO collaborated with EssilorLuxottica’s Leonardo platform to create initiatives and courses to help address these concerns, including courses like “Recognizing & Overcoming Bias in Eyecare” with Dr. Canto-Sims, LEO co-founder; Dr. Essence Johnson, Black Eyecare Perspective (BEC) executive director; and Arlene Segovia from Transitions Optical. This course went live on October 30, 2023, and is evergreen and accessible anytime on the Leonardo platform for ECPs to learn about implicit and explicit biases in eyecare.





Effective communication is essential in providing accurate assessments, correct prescriptions, patient education, informed decision-making, building trust and ensuring cultural sensitivity. This leads to better eyecare and overall patient satisfaction. LEO is committed to creating resources to help all ECPs treat their Spanish-speaking and Latino patients proficiently.

LEO celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month at Vision Expo West in Las Vegas at its Latinos en Optometry networking event. “The outcome was phenomenal, receiving support and attendance from the industry, the show and attendees. And the LEO event was also covered live in Latin America by Creative Latin Media LLC,” Dr. Canto-Sims said.

“The Road to Opometry” Initiative sponsored by Transitions Optical is a “20/20 promise to raise the Latino optometrist percentage by 20 percent in 20 years, to better align with the growth of the Latino population.

Pew Research Center shared some key facts about Hispanics.

“The U.S. Hispanic population reached 63.6 million in 2022, up from 50.5 million in 2010. The 26 percent increase in the Hispanic population was faster than the nation’s 8 percent growth rate. In 2022, Hispanics made up nearly one in five people in the U.S. (19 percent), up from 16 percent in 2010 and just 5 percent in 1970. Hispanics have played a major role in U.S. population growth over the past decade. The U.S. population grew by 24.5 million from 2010 to 2022, and Hispanics accounted for 53 percent of this increase.”

Also, according to Pew, “The Latino population, already the nation’s largest minority group, will triple in size and will account for most of the nation’s population growth from 2005 through 2050. Hispanics will make up 29 percent of the U.S. population in 2050, compared with 14 percent in 2005.

“Our goal at Latinos en Optometry is to catch up with the population growth of Latinos and increase the number of Latinos graduating and practicing optometry. We are also committed to creating helpful resources for non-Latino optometrists to better serve the fast-growing Latino population.”

Coming up in January is an exclusive 8-part live webinar series for undergraduates and current optometry students. Details are posted at www.latinosenoptometry.com/transitions-webinar-series The next webinar will be on Jan. 10, 2024, with CEO board member Dr. Hector Santiago, professor at the Inter Optometry school in Puerto Rico, the president of VOSH, and optometry student Liliana Gonzalez.

These webinars are interviews/chats of LEO’s eight board members (on different days) who all practice different modalities in optometry. The LEO Student Ambassadors conduct the interviews. The webinars will share a range of modalities of practice, from traditional private practice to academia and hybrid modes like corporate optometry mixed with specialties like myopia management. The first two webinars were recorded and are posted on the LEO website now.

The LEO now also has established its first club at Nova Southeastern College of Optometry in Florida and has plans to develop similar student clubs at all the colleges of optometry.

The group also has developed “The Roadmap to Optometry,” a PDF that explains the steps needed to qualify to apply to optometry school for undergraduates interested in optometry. There is a college tour with a mobile clinic for undergrads to experience an eye exam during the college tour mobile clinic offered by LEO board member, Dr. Linda Arrango.