CHILDREN'S VISION AND EYE HEALTH UPDATE | JANUARY 2024

Happy 2024 to our readers. May this year be filled with good health and good sight!

This month, we are excited to kick off the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health with exciting data on children’s vision from the 2021 National Survey of Children’s Health as well as a new monthly program to answer your questions about vision screening.

Fifteen years ago, we created the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health to provide you with education, training, and vision screening guidance to help raise awareness of children’s vision needs. Help celebrate this milestone by making a gift today. Just $1 for every year of the Center allows us to continue providing you with the resources to help children see better to live, grow, and learn. Please give $15 in honor of this 15th Anniversary!

For those of us who help children learn and thrive, sometimes we neglect our own health, including our eye health. Starting this month, we’ll feature adult eye health topics in each newsletter to help you take care of yourselves (taking care of our health is a New Year’s resolution we can all benefit from.) See more below. 

Can You Screen the Vision of a Child at 10 Feet Using a 20-Foot Chart?

Hear the answer to this question on January 24, 2024 – and Answers to Other Questions Every Month!

If you have burning questions about vision screening and can spare 30 minutes in your busy day, we have something new and exciting for you in 2024! The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness is holding monthly interactive virtual Office Half-Hours. We set aside this time to answer your burning vision screening questions. We hope you will add your own vision screening pearls of wisdom to the answers. For example, if you want tips for closing the gap between vision screening referrals and eye exams, we can provide tips and then hear tips from you. We will pool our knowledge and experiences! 

Does this sound like a productive and fun 30 minutes? Join the Office Half-Hours, hosted by Kay Nottingham Chaplin, EdD, who is nearing her 23rd year anniversary in the vision screening field. The Office Half-Hour will be on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. EST beginning January 24, 2024. Come join us even if you only want to hear answers to questions from other participants. If we cannot address all questions, we will post Q&As after each session.

Did you know that by 5 months, Baby’s eyes should appear straight and neither eye should turn up, down, in, or out for several minutes at a time, either constantly or intermittently? We partnered with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin to create a new video about babies’ vision development that you can share with families, use for staff development, and post to your social media channels. 

In a new study of the 2021 vision data in the National Survey of Children’s Health, the authors (a team from the NCCVEH) found that socioeconomic factors create a stark disparity in access and utilization of crucial eye screenings and treatments. More than half (53%) of children received a vision screening (ever for children under 6 years, and in the past 2 years for children ages 6 and older). This percentage varied depending on age and other factors. Among those screened, about one in four (27%) were referred for an eye exam. Around two-fifths (39%) of referred children visited an eye doctor. Of those who visited an eye doctor, slightly more than half (55%) were prescribed glasses or other corrective lenses.

The Total Solar Eclipse is Less than Three Months Away: April 8, 2024

A total solar eclipse will occur on April 8, 2024. Do you know if the Solar Eclipse will be fully in view from your town?

And don’t forget to purchase ISO-certified eclipse glasses for the students in your classrooms through our partners at School Health. 

The Prevent Blindness Children's Vision Screening Certification Course provides training and certification in evidence-based children's vision screening protocols and techniques and how to create a systematic referral follow-up process. The course includes a virtual skills mentoring session using the teach-back methodology to ensure screeners use tools correctly and are comfortable with how they screen and follow up with families. This national Certification is valid for 3 years. You will also receive 5 contact hours for professional development.

Find out more about this nationally recognized course and program.

Did you know that the increasing rates of myopia (nearsightedness when vision is clear at near and blurred at far) is considered an epidemic? The Vision Council released a new research report in December 2023 highlighting parents’ awareness and experiences with childhood myopia. They found a significant gap in parental understanding regarding childhood myopia, which provides an opportunity for all of us to educate families about preventing or slowing the progression of myopia and keeping children’s eyes healthy.

Advice from the report: “Spending time outdoors and limiting screen time are well-researched strategies for preventing myopia in children, but it needs to happen before a child becomes myopic, so early awareness is important.

Prevent Blindness observes National Glaucoma Awareness Month in January to raise awareness of the “Silent Thief of Sight.” 

Check out this new video from our staff member Tasha Lockridge, about her glaucoma journey. Did you know that glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States? There are several types of glaucoma, including the most common type- primary open-angle glaucoma as well as juvenile glaucoma and congenital glaucoma which impacts children of different ages. Glaucoma symptoms can begin gradually, usually affecting peripheral vision first. Late in the disease, glaucoma may cause “tunnel vision.” However, even central vision can also be seriously damaged. Once vision is lost to glaucoma, it cannot be restored.

Has your state begun the Medicaid Unwinding Process? Check out these resources to assist families who are at risk of losing their critical health insurance.

A new toolkit includes helpful information on how health care providers can share information on Medicaid and CHIP renewals with patients (from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).

How States Can Reduce Coverage Loss Among Children During The Medicaid Unwinding | Health Affairs

Preserving Medicaid and CHIP Coverage (aap.org)

Sign up for eye and vision advocacy alerts and the Prevent Blindness Advocacy eNewsletter.

PreventBlindness.org | nationalcenter.preventblindness.org