Updated National Report Outlining the Current State of Children’s Vision and Eye Health
As part of August’s Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, and as a follow-up to its 2016 publication, The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) has released an updated version of the report titled “Children’s Vision and Eye Health: A Snapshot of Current National Issues 2nd Edition.” The goal of the report is:
- to provide updated surveillance data,
- share best practices from eye health programs,
- describe current vision screening and eye health requirements for preschool and school aged children for each state in the U.S., and
- share key policies and recommendations from the NCCVEH Advisory Committee on the best approaches to providing children with access to eye care.
The “Children’s Vision and Eye Health: A Snapshot of Current National Issues 2nd Edition” includes an outline and detailed graphics of the national prevalence rates for vision conditions (amblyopia, strabismus, astigmatism, myopia, hyperopia, etc.), including breakdowns by age and ethnic groups. The new report includes expanded sections on early detection of vision disorders, vision screening, special considerations for children with special health care needs, national and federal guidance around children’s vision and eye health, building a comprehensive state vision health program, and new highlights from five states. It also includes revised data on vision testing and the social determinants of health, and a greatly expanded section on equity titled “Equity Matters in Vision.”
The new report also found:
- The annual U.S. economic costs of children’s vision disorders total $10 billion.
- Uncorrected refractive errors (including significant near-sightedness, far-sightedness, and astigmatism) in infants and preschool-age children are associated with clinically identified deficits in cognitive and visual-motor functions that may, in turn, have a negative impact on school readiness. Refractive errors make up 70% of decreased visual acuity in Asian and non-Hispanic White children.
- In 2016, 40 states required vision screening for school-age children and only 16 states required vision screening for preschool-age children. In 2020, 40 states mandate some type of vision screening for school-age children and 26 states required vision screening for preschool-age children.
- 39% of all children aged 5 and younger had ever had their vision tested with pictures, shapes or letters and 86% of children aged 6-11 had their vision tested with pictures, shapes or letters within the past 2 years.
- Non-Hispanic children aged 0-17 years whose primary language at home was not English had the lowest percentage of vision testing as compared to children in homes where English or Spanish were spoken.
- Children in families with greater household income are more likely to have received vision testing.
- Children in families with adults that have a college education compared to those in homes with adults that did not complete high school or who have some college education are more likely to have received vision testing.
“The original mission of Prevent Blindness when it was founded back in 1908 was to protect newborns from preventable blinding eye disease,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “More than 110 years later, we continue the mission of protecting children’s vision by promoting evidence-based approaches for ensuring access to the quality eyecare that all children deserve.”