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Prevent Blindness has once again declared April as Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month. Because women are at higher risk of eye disease and certain eye conditions than men, the nonprofit offers free educational resources to consumers and health care professionals, including videos, fact sheets, social media graphics, educational videos and web pages.
Women are at higher risk than men for:
“Women can help to avoid unnecessary vision impairment by educating themselves on the eye diseases and conditions that may affect them and by taking preventive steps today to maintain healthy eyesight,” said Kira Baldonado, Executive Vice President at Prevent Blindness. “However, gender inequities in terms of access to quality eyecare must be addressed in the United States and around the world to help ensure that healthy vision is a right available to all.”
According to the “Eye Health for Women and Girls” report from the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, globally, women have greater barriers to accessing eye care services. While women face many of the same barriers as men (e.g. unaffordable direct and indirect costs, fear of treatment, distance to health facilities, etc.), this is often compounded by numerous additional gendered barriers to access, such as lack of education, limited decision-making power within their households, poor access to financial resources, and other issues. These factors contribute to a higher risk of avoidable blindness.
Since 1908, Prevent Blindness has led policy change and access to eyecare initiatives at both the state and national levels for adults and children. This includes establishing the first volunteer-led screening programs to support the early identification of glaucoma and promoting early detection of vision problems. Prevent Blindness has also advanced understanding of the prevalence of eye diseases and vision loss in the United States, with our advocacy efforts helping to establish a vision research and prevention program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Prevent Blindness offers various educational resources on women’s vision issues. New this year, Sherrol Reynolds, O.D., Professor of Optometry at Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry, Chief of the Davie Primary Care Clinic, Director of the Retina Clinic, and long-time Prevent Blindness volunteer, will join the April episode of the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Podcast to discuss what women need to know to help protect their vision and keep eyes healthy, specifically while managing chronic conditions such as diabetes.
Episodes in the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Expert Series include:
• “Healthy Vision and Eye Safety Tips for Women,” featuring Maria Sampalis, OD, owner of Sampalis Eye Care and a Prevent Blindness volunteer, discussing the importance of women accessing regular eyecare, barriers some may face, how eye exams can help detect other health conditions, and more.
• “Women’s Eye Health and Safety” features Janine Austin Clayton, MD, FARVO, Director, Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Clayton also wrote this “Women and Eye Health” essay for Prevent Blindness.
Prevent Blindness also collaborated with the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) on the SWHR Patient Toolkit: A Guide to Women’s Eye Health. Free for download, the toolkit provides easy-to-understand information on eye health, including common eye symptoms and diseases that disproportionately affect women. The toolkit also includes a “Doctor’s Visit Worksheet,” designed to help patients prepare for their next consultation with their eyecare provider.
For more information on women’s eye health topics, please call (800) 331-2020, or visit PreventBlindness.org.
Prevent Blindness is declaring February as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Month in an effort to provide education and various expert-approved resources to the public and professionals. This year’s AMD and Low Vision Month is generously supported by Gold Sponsor EyePoint, Inc.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, AMD is the most common cause of severe loss of eyesight among people 50 and older. And, about 4 million Americans live with low vision, which is defined as chronic visual impairment that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or medical treatments.
AMD affects the central part of the retina called the “macula.” When AMD damages the macula, the center part of a person’s vision may become blurred or wavy, and a blind spot may develop. Early detection and treatment of AMD is key to helping to prevent significant vision loss.
Two types of AMD include:
“As our population ages, the number of individuals impacted by AMD continues to grow. Many will face difficulties doing the things we sometimes take for granted, such as reading, seeing faces, and driving,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “Our robust collection of resources on AMD and low vision are intentionally created to help minimize vision loss and maintain independence for those impacted by AMD while providing effective tools to the public and providers on ways to save sight.”
As part of AMD and Low Vision Month, Prevent Blindness offers the free AMD GuideMe app. This resource provides a customized overview of AMD along with a tailored resource list and suggested steps to help save sight from the eye disease specific to the individual using the GuideMe app. Prevent Blindness offers additional educational resources including fact sheets and shareable social media graphics in English and Spanish, and dedicated webpages.
New this year, as part of the Prevent Blindness ASPECT Patient Engagement Program Member Spotlight Series, graduate Laurie S., shares her experience with AMD, including her family history with the eye disease, how it impacts her daily activities including the ability to read music, and the importance of support groups “Age-related Macular Degeneration: Laurie’s Story.”
Videos in the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Series include:
The Prevent Blindness “Living Well With Low Vision” program provides useful information to those with low vision, their care partners and healthcare professionals. Content includes self-help guides, resources for vision loss and mental wellness, information on clinical trials, and much more. Living Well With Low Vision is supported by grants from Amgen and Genentech.
For more information on AMD, please visit PreventBlindness.org/amd. For information on geographic atrophy, please visit PreventBlindness.org/geographic-atrophy.
And, for more information on Living Well With Low Vision, or other general eye health information, please visit lowvision.PreventBlindness.org.
For a listing of organizations and services that provide financial assistance for vision care in English or Spanish, please visit https://preventblindness.org/vision-care-financial-assistance-information.
