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Dear NEHEP Partners,
May is Healthy Vision Month (HVM)! We're highlighting the powerful role of preventive care and how everyday lifestyle choices can support lifelong eye health. From scheduling regular eye exams to making healthy decisions around nutrition, activity, and chronic disease management, there are simple steps everyone can take to protect their vision.
Throughout May, NEI is encouraging our partners to share resources, research, and real-life stories that show how taking care of your overall health can lead to better eye health outcomes. We’re excited to partner with organizations across the country to amplify these messages and help communities take charge of their eye health.
Thank you for all you do to promote vision health — and for joining us in spreading the word during HVM 2026!
Best regards,
Kathryn DeMott
Acting Director, National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP)
National Eye Institute
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Share NEI’s Healthy Vision Month Resources
This Healthy Vision Month, help NEI raise awareness on the ways healthy lifestyle choices can protect your eye health. Visit our website and share engaging resources including animated videos, social media graphics, posts, outreach materials, and more.
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Celebrate Healthy Vision Month with NEI’s Healthy Eyes Webinar
NEI’s NEHEP is hosting Healthy Lives, Healthy Eyes: Simple Actions to Protect Your Vision – a free, live webinar focused on simple, everyday actions people can take to protect their eye health. Experts in eye research, clinical care, public health, and patient advocacy will come together and discuss what really matters for lifelong vision health, without the jargon.
During this 60-minute interactive webinar, you’ll learn:
- Five daily habits that support long-term eye health
- How nutrition, physical activity, and chronic disease management affect vision
- Why routine eye exams matter, even if your vision seems fine
- New discoveries from vision research that are helping to better prevent and treat vision loss
When: May 12, 2026; 12pm – 1pm ET
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Partnering to expand participation in vision research
The National Eye Institute is working with the All of Us Research Program to advance the Eyes on Health study, an effort to better understand how eye health connects to overall health.
By contributing retinal images and health information, participants can help researchers study how the eye may reveal early signs of conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and neurological disorders, supporting earlier detection and more personalized care.
The Eyes on Health study depends on broad participation to ensure discoveries benefit all communities. We’re calling on all our NEHEP partners to help spread the word about the study and enrollment to ensure that everyone is represented in this research. Shout-out to the National Alliance for Hispanic Health for helping us get the word out about the need to participate in this research opportunity.
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Help Raise Awareness About Inherited Retinal Diseases
Prevent Blindness established May as Inherited Retinal Disease (IRD) Awareness Month to raise awareness about the role of genetic testing in identifying IRDs. IRDs are a group of diseases that can cause severe vision loss or even blindness. Early diagnosis can make a crucial difference in protecting vision and accessing treatment options.
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Everyday Choices That Can Influence the Course of Eye Disease
Ever wonder if there's more you could be doing to support your eye health? Dr. Sophie Bakri, retinal surgeon and chair of ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, joins Hadley to discuss everyday choices that can influence the course of eye conditions like macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma.
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2026 Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Webinar Series
Join Prevent Blindness’ four-part Focus on Eye Health Webinar Series, themed “Powering Partnerships to Advance Eye Health.” This 2026 series highlights how collaboration across public health, policy, research, and community sectors can drive innovative, sustainable solutions to prevent vision loss and improve eye health for all.
Webinar 1, Vision Policy Across the Lifespan, Tuesday, May 19, from 2:00–3:30 pm ET.
| | Other Events and Resources | |
Event: The National Association of Vision Professionals (NAVP) will host its 2026 NAVP Conference on July 22–23, 2026, in Durham, North Carolina. Taking place at the AC Hotel Durham, the conference will bring together vision professionals from across the country to share expertise, explore emerging issues, and strengthen collaboration in vision rehabilitation and services.
Resource: VisionAware shares the story of Nancy Duncan, who has gained greater independence in managing her diabetes by using an accessible continuous glucose monitor (CGM). With audible alerts and smartphone access, the CGM allows her to track blood sugar and manage her health independently, highlighting the power of accessible technology and self-advocacy.
Resource(s): The Society for Women’s Health Research offers several insightful resources to improve women’s understanding of eye health:
Resource: The National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) at Mississippi State University offers a course called The Low Down on Low Vision. This 1-hour course covers the common causes of low vision, how to conduct a low vision evaluation, and the aids and techniques that help individuals make the most of their limited vision. Available for CRC, ACVREP, and NBPCB credit.
The Eye Health Connection is a newsletter developed with the input of NEHEP Partners and shared with the community of NEHEP’s 60+ partner organizations. The links are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only, they do not constitute an endorsement by the National Eye Institute or its employees.
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