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AAO launches vision screening program for at-risk adult populations in US
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SAN FRANCISCO — The American Academy of Ophthalmology announced it has launched a program to identify undiagnosed eye disease in high-risk populations in the United States, starting with the Latino population.
The EyeSmart EyeCheck initiative comes on the heels of the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES), which showed that Latinos have higher rates of visual impairment, blindness, diabetic retinopathy and cataracts than non-Hispanic white people, according to an AAO press release.
LALES data are published in the May 2010 issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
"What's important about the LALES research is that it underscores the fact that eye disease affecting quality of life remains undetected in far too many individuals," David W. Parke II, MD, CEO of the AAO, said in the release. "Vision is one of our most valued and precious senses. Even seemingly small degrees of visual impairment can impact our daily activities, mobility and quality of life. It does not have to be this way, and ophthalmologists are going to do something about it."
The AAO, state ophthalmology and ophthalmic subspecialty societies, hospitals, eye institutes and community organizations will test and pilot the EyeCheck screening methodology, post a national inventory of community eye screenings and provide referrals to eye care and bilingual eye health information at screening sites and online, the release said.
The first pilot screening is scheduled to be conducted July 25 in the Los Angeles area in collaboration with the Jules Stein Eye Institute, the Doheny Eye Institute, the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, the Los Angeles Society of Ophthalmology and QueensCare, a nonprofit health care charity serving Los Angeles.
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