VEHSS Composite Prevalence Estimates

The Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS) creates composite estimates of the prevalence of vision loss and major eye disorders. The VEHSS composite estimates represent the primary surveillance measures of cumulative diagnosed and undiagnosed disorders developed by VEHSS.

These estimates are generated using a statistical model that combines information from multiple data sources to produce a single comprehensive set of prevalence estimates by age, race, gender, and geography at the national, state and county levels.

Examples of data sources used to create the composite estimates are the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (reference values), the American Community Survey, the National Survey of Children’s Health, Medicare Fee-For-Service claims, Medicaid claims, MarketScan commercial insurance claims, the Health Resources & Service Administration’s Area Resources File, and population-based examination study results.