Section 1: Assess Vision and Eye Health in Your Community
Before you create a plan to implement and evaluate a public health intervention to improve vision and eye health, you must assess your community’s needs. This assessment will help you understand:
- How many people in your community have vision impairment and eye disorders.
- The prevalence of risk factors, such as diabetes, that put people at higher risk of vision disorders.
- The characteristics of the people most affected by vision impairment and eye disorders.
- The extent to which people in your community have access to vision services and eye care providers and use these services.
Collecting this information will help you choose interventions, allocate resources, monitor vision impairment and eye disorders, and evaluate your progress in meeting the needs of your community.1
Assesment Data Can Also Help You
- Identify people with vision impairment and those at risk of an eye disorder.
- Estimate the magnitude and scope of vision impairment and associated health problems.
- Measure trends and monitor changes in vision and eye health status.
- Identify disparities in access to eye care and the geographic distribution of populations at high-risk.
- Prioritize interventions to address gaps and issues related to vision and eye health.
- Plan, implement, and guide the evaluation of vision and eye health interventions.
- Develop hypotheses and stimulate research.
- Educate stakeholders about the importance of developing and implementing evidence-based and cost-effective vision and eye health interventions.
- Allocate resources to promote vision and eye health.
Additional Pages in This Section
References
- West SK, Lee P. Vision surveillance in the United States: has the time come? Am J Ophthalmol. 2012;154(6):S1–S2, e2.
Page last reviewed: February 4, 2020