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MMWR report says eye care goals for kids not being met
CDC analysis of 2002 NHIS concludes U.S. children younger than 6 are missing oppportunties for preventive eye care.
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The national health objectives for 2010 established by the federal Healthy People 2010 program include three vision objectives for children: 1) reducing visual impairment and blindness, 2) increasing the proportion of preschool children who receive vision screening and 3) increasing the use of protective eye wear in recreational activities and hazardous situations around the home. To address all three childhood vision objectives, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
Report findings summarized
An MMWR report summarized the results of that analysis, which indicated that the prevalence of visual impairment and the use of eye care services were significantly higher among children older than 6 years compared with younger children, and this varied by race/ethnicity and family income. As a result of that analysis, national baselines are now available for all three objectives.
In 2002, the prevalence of reported visual impairment and blindness among children younger than 18 years was 2.5%. Among children younger than 6 years, 36.3% were reported to have ever had their vision tested, and 7.4% had visited an eye care provider during the preceding year.
Among all children younger than 18 years, 20.7% had visited an eye care provider during the preceding year. About half (50.9%) of children 6 to 17 years were reported to participate in sports, hobbies or other activities that can cause eye injury. Of children engaged in these activities, 14.6% were reported to use protective eye wear all or most of the time.
Failure to meet objectives
The findings in this report indicate that the national health objective for 2010 to reduce the number of children with visual impairment and blindness to 20 per 1,000 children has not yet been achieved. In 2002, the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness (25 per 1,000 children) remained nearly the same as in the baseline year 1997 (24 per 1,000 children).
The prevalence of visual impairment and blindness was higher among children 6 to 17 years old than among younger children. However, the percentage of children younger than 6 years who had received a vision test (36.3%) was below the national health objective target of 52%, suggesting that the difference by age is less substantial because of lack of screening; many parents or caretakers might not be aware of their childrens’ visual difficulties until they begin school.
A national health objective for 2010 aims to increase the use of protective eye wear in recreational activities and hazardous situations around the home to 20%; in 2002, the proportion of children using protective eye wear was below this target.
Public health surveillance programs on vision should continue to use NHIS data to help design and implement effective strategies to improve the nation’s visual health, the MMWR report said.
A note from the editors:
This article originally appeared in Primary Care Optometry News, a SLACK Incorporated publication.
For Your Information:
- Cotch MF, Janiszewshi R, et al. Visual impairment and use of eye care services and protective eye wear among children — United States, 2002. MMWR Weekly. 2005;54(17):425.
- Jessica S. Nowak is an OSN Correspondent who writes principally for OSN’s sister publication Primary Care Optometry News.