Children’s eye health gets spotlight in August
COLUMBUS — As many families are preparing for a new school year, Prevent Blindness Ohio has declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month.
“We know that being able to see clearly is a strong predictor of academic success,” said Amy Pulles, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness Ohio. “We’ve developed expert-approved resources that are designed to help kids reach their highest potential through healthy vision, for this school year and for life.”
Uncorrected vision problems can impair child development, interfere with learning and even lead to permanent vision loss. According to the Prevent Blindness Children’s Vision Health Map and corresponding report, compiled in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System, vision issues in children are common in the United States.
• One out of every 122 children has permanent vision loss.
• There are 25 percent more girls with vision loss than boys.
• One out of every 45 children in Medicaid/CHIP had an amblyopia or strabismus diagnosis in 2019. This includes one out of every 94 children with amblyopia and one out of every 70 with strabismus.
Among the community-level indicators included in the Prevent Blindness Children’s Vision Health Map, vision loss is most closely correlated with the prevalence of children in poverty, +55 percent.
Nearly 4 million children in Medicaid/CHIP received at least one pair of covered eyeglasses in 2019.
Prevent Blindness Ohio offers free materials on children’s vision issues, including myopia-nearsightedness, amblyopia-lazy eye, strabismus-crossed eyes, retinopathy of prematurity and the effects of juvenile diabetes on vision.
Prevent Blindness has also developed new resources on patching for amblyopia, including video testimonials from children who are patching, and a new Focus on Eye Health Expert Series episode, featuring Sandra S. Block, OD, MEd, MPH, president of the World Council of Optometry, professor emeritus of the Illinois College of Optometry and emeritus member of the Prevent Blindness Board of Directors.
Preventing eye injuries is a critical way to prevent vision loss in children. Dedicated resources on safety and eye protection, including contact lenses, sports, UV, screen time and digital devices, and home and toy eye safety, are also available.
Prevent Blindness and Prevent Blindness Ohio are working to establish a national approach to children’s vision and continue to advocate for the recently reintroduced Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act, H.R. 2527. Led by Congressional Vision Caucus co-chairs, this bipartisan legislation, if passed, will establish the first national program specifically aimed at improving children’s vision and eye health. The EDVI Act is currently supported by more than 100 state and national organizations. To learn more about the EDVI Act and how to contact your representatives to be a voice for children’s vision, visit the Prevent Blindness Legislative Action Center.
For general information on children’s eye health and safety, visit www.PreventBlindness.org/your-childs-sight, or contact Prevent Blindness Ohio at 800-301-2020 or www.pbohio.org.
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