Prevent Blindness Children’s Vision Health Map showcases ‘breadth of vision problems’
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Prevent Blindness announced the debut of its new Children’s Vision Health Map, an online interactive tool that uses national data to display geographic variations among common vision problems.
“As a public health advocacy organization, part of our mission is to make the case for ensuring that vision issues are addressed appropriately, whether through public education or by shaping public policy,” Jeff Todd, the organization’s president and CEO, said in a Prevent Blindness press release. “The new Prevent Blindness Children’s Vision Health Map was created as a resource for professionals and laypeople alike to better understand the breadth of vision problems in the communities in which they live and work, along with the challenges faced in addressing them.”
According to the release, the map, which uses data provided by the CDC Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System and other resources collected by NORC at the University of Chicago, aims to provide the public, health care providers and government officials with county- and state-level information about children’s vision and eye health conditions and outcomes.
Alongside the map, a comprehensive report highlights key data points, including:
- one out of every 122 children in the U.S. has uncorrectable vision loss;
- 25% more girls than boys have vision loss;
- one out of every 89 Black children in the U.S. has vision loss, and one out of every 1,000 experiences permanent blindness; and
- of more than 760,000 children enrolled in Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs in 2019, 360,000 were diagnosed with amblyopia, and 486,000 were diagnosed with strabismus.
Prevent Blindness also noted it hopes the data provided in the map will help advance the Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act, which would provide funding for education, vision screening, referrals and follow-up care.
“The new data from the Prevent Blindness Children’s Vision Health Map and report allows us to effectively identify and address the various eye health needs of different populations across the country,” Donna Fishman, director of the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness, said in the release. “We look forward to working with stakeholders, public health advocates and community groups to help ensure our children can enjoy a lifetime of clear and healthy vision.”
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