Prevent Blindness has declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month. The nonprofit offers a wide range of free educational resources for the public, educators, and health professionals; eyecare professionals can use these materials to educate their patients on the importance of managing children’s eye health. Materials include web content, printable fact sheets, expert and patient videos, and social media graphics in both English and Spanish.
“We know that being able to see clearly is a strong predictor of academic success,” says Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We’ve developed expert-approved resources that are designed to help kids reach their highest potential through healthy vision for this school year and for life.”
Data from the Prevent Blindness Children’s Vision Health Map highlight the scope of issues that can come from uncorrected vision problems in children:
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One in every 122 children in the U.S. has permanent vision loss.
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Vision loss is 25% more common in girls than boys.
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In 2019, 1 in every 45 children enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP had a diagnosis of amblyopia or strabismus.
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Vision loss is most strongly associated with poverty, with a +55% correlation in community-level indicators.
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Nearly 4 million children in Medicaid/CHIP received at least one pair of eyeglasses in 2019.
To help address these issues, Prevent Blindness provides resources on various children’s vision topics including myopia, amblyopia, strabismus, retinopathy of prematurity, and vision complications from juvenile diabetes. New materials on amblyopia patching are also available, including video testimonials from children and a new installment in the Focus on Eye Health Expert Series featuring Sandra S. Block, OD, MEd, MPH, president of the World Council of Optometry and professor emeritus at the Illinois College of Optometry.
Preventing eye injuries is another critical aspect of protecting children’s vision. Resources are available on safety topics such as contact lens hygiene, sports eye protection, UV exposure, screen time, and toy-related injuries.
Prevent Blindness is also advocating for a national strategy to improve children’s vision through support of the bipartisan Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act (H.R. 2527). Sponsored by reps. Gus Bilirakis and Marc A. Veasey, and cosponsored by several other lawmakers, the legislation seeks to establish the first national program focused on children’s vision and currently has the backing of more than 100 organizations.