Statewide Survey to Monitor Visual Impairment and Access to Eye Care
WASHINGTON – The American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) today announced its support for the New York State Department of Health’s (NYSDOH) inclusion of new questions about visual impairment and access to eye care in its annual 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The BRFSS, a state-based survey program, was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor state-level prevalence of the major behavioral risks among adults associated with morbidity and mortality in the population. BRFSS data is used by the CDC, as well as local, state and national health departments and organizations to identify emerging health problems, develop and implement disease prevention activities, and support health-related legislative efforts.
Conducted in all 50 states, BRFSS uses a telephone interview of a random sample of adults to gather data about health risk behaviors, clinical preventive practices, health care access and health-related outcomes. NYSDOH will perform detailed analysis of the data with assistance from the CDC in weighting the data to be representative of the New York state population.
The CDC provides significant financial assistance to all states to conduct the surveys, but funding is limited to surveying a core set of questions. The Academy provided financial support to the NYSDOH to help defray the costs of adding the vision module to the state survey.
New York is one of the first states in the nation to include vision-related questions in its survey. The vision questions focus on age-related eye diseases including retinopathy, glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataract, as well as work-related eye injuries. Questions on visual impairment and eye care access will help monitor the levels of visual impairment in New York.
The prevalence of visual impairment, often a chronic and disabling condition in adults, will rise as the population ages and as conditions like diabetes that are linked to eye problems increase. Current estimates indicate that three percent of Americans aged 40 and older are either blind or visually impaired. The public health costs of blindness and low vision are estimated at $68 billion annually nationwide.
Because of New York’s highly diverse population, the Department and the Academy expect to obtain a “first of its kind” data set on these eye diseases that can be used nationally by public health and medical professionals.
The Academy welcomed the opportunity to help the NYSDOH make the vision module possible. “Because New York has a long history and a lot of experience with the BRFSS, the Academy believes it is well suited to be one of the first states to undertake the vision module as part of the annual survey,” said H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, the Academy’s executive vice president. “We expect New York’s first vision data set to be extremely valuable in the fight against age-related eye disease. The Academy is delighted to work with the NYSDOH on this project.”
Enthusiasm for the Department’s decision was also voiced by the New York State Ophthalmological Society. “As the nation's largest state association of eye physicians and surgeons, the Society looks forward to participating in this important study. Working with the Department of Health and the Academy of Ophthalmology to advance the ocular health of our New York citizens is one of our highest priorities and consistent with Society's mission," said Andrew M. Prince, M.D., the Society’s president.
