Q&A: ‘Widespread action’ needed to pass children’s early detection eye health act
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The Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act, if passed, would be the first federal-level program to support state and community approaches for children’s vision and eye health, a major step forward for the eye care community.
As Healio previously reported, the legislation would establish grants for screening, early interventions and coordinated care to increase equitable eye care access for children.
“If passed, this legislation would establish a first-of-its-kind public health program to address children’s vision and eye health in the United States — no other program or funding is dedicated specifically to this aspect of children’s health and development, even as we know that a child’s vision changes as they grow,” Sara D. Brown, MPA, director of government affairs at Prevent Blindness, told Healio.
Healio spoke with Brown about what passage of the act would mean for optometrists and how clinicians can encourage their legislators to support it.
Healio: What does this legislation mean for practicing optometrists?
Brown: The EDVI Act would provide resources that will enable states and communities to identify vision and eye health needs, improve referral and follow-up to care, develop new systems of care, document interventions and enhance data systems — all essential for early identification and detection of vision disorders. All of these components of a system of care, when employed together, will improve the rates of referrals to eye care and follow-up to ensure a child has received a diagnosis and treatment.
Optometrists will be encouraged to work in collaboration with their state and local health departments and school systems to ensure the design of a strong system of care. With collaboration from optometrists, these new systems can help ODs create relationships with screening programs, create opportunities for eye health education of children and families by ODs, and ensure that ODs know about the languages and cultural attitudes of patients coming from screening programs.
Furthermore, systems can be established for better communication and coordination between eye care providers and screening programs in schools and childcare settings to ensure that referrals are shared in a timely fashion and diagnoses and treatment plans are shared with the screening programs with family permission. We also will have better surveillance of disease prevalence in communities, so optometrists will be more aware of the vision disorders impacting children in their communities.
Finally, with resources provided to states and communities by the EDVI Act, children and families can be connected via their eye care providers to additional resources such as assistive technology and devices for learning or wrap-around care services that a child may need to help set the foundation for a lifetime of good vision.
Healio: How can optometrists get involved in advocating for this legislation?
Brown: Prevent Blindness is inviting members of the public to reach out to their legislators on Capitol Hill and urge them to co-sponsor the EDVI Act, which is H.R. 8400 in the House of Representatives. Those interested can visit the Prevent Blindness website for details about the EDVI Act and click on the “You Can Help” link.
We also urge you to speak to your colleagues and encourage them to get involved. Passing this legislation is going to require broad support and widespread, persistent action from all stakeholders to become a reality for children and families seeking early interventive, sight-saving eye care.
Healio: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Brown: Over 90 organizations across the country have endorsed this legislation, including the American Academy of Optometry, the American Optometric Association, the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry and the National Optometric Association.
We are thrilled that the legislation has such strong support from partners in optometry, ophthalmology, primary care, family advocacy, patient groups and community-based organizations. A list is available on the EDVI Act website, which is updated as additional organizations sign on.
Reference:
- Children’s Vision and Eye Health: Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children (EDVI) Act of 2024. https://advocacy.preventblindness.org/edvi-act-of-2024/. Accessed Aug. 22, 2024.
For more information:
Sara D. Brown, MPA, is director of government affairs at Prevent Blindness. She can be reached at advocacy@PreventBlindness.org.
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