Protect children’s eye health and vision

July 2023

Dear NEHEP Partners,

In celebration of Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month in August, we’re focusing this month’s newsletter on children’s eye health and vision. Catching eye diseases and conditions early — and getting the right treatment — can help protect children’s vision for a lifetime. Use the resources in this newsletter to help improve eye health for the children in your life and community.

In addition, we’re so excited to congratulate the winners of our second annual NEI Eye on the Future Teen Video Contest! Thanks again to all of you for helping spread the word. Because of your efforts, we received over 60 submissions this year, topping last year’s number. Be sure to read the highlight to learn more about the inspiring young scientists who won this year’s contest.

Best,

Devina Kuo Fan, M.P.H.

Director, National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP)

National Eye Institute

Celebrate the 2023 Eye on the Future winners

For this year’s contest, teens could submit videos in one of 3 categories: Science in your World, Science in the Field or Lab, or Science in your Future. The winners in each category were (respectively) Thuy-Tien Tran, Celia Cooley, and Mark Leschinsky. Congrats again to these up-and-coming scientists!

Watch the winning videos

U.S. Surgeon General raises alarm about loneliness and isolation

In May, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an advisory warning that loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection are a public health crisis in our country. Based on decades of research, expert recommendations, and his own cross-country listening tour, Dr. Murthy’s advisory emphasizes both the danger of loneliness and the healing power of social connection and community.

Read about our epidemic of loneliness

Support children with glaucoma

Childhood glaucoma is a rare eye condition that causes vision loss. But with the right support, children with glaucoma can make the most of the vision they have. The Glaucoma Research Foundation has put together a reference guide to help parents and professionals effectively support children with glaucoma.

Get and share the reference guide

Take a course on common children’s eye conditions

The National Research & Training Center on Blindness & Low Vision has a course on retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), cortical visual impairment (CVI), and other eye conditions that affect children. The course is self-paced, takes about an hour, and offers CRC, ACVREP, and NBPCB credit.

Enroll in the course

Calendar of Events

Prevent vision problems from concussions

Mark your calendars to watch “Childhood Concussion and Your Eyes: What You Need to Know” on BlackDoctor.org’s Facebook page, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. EST. This interview is part of the monthly series, “Seeing Eye to Eye,” organized by BlackDoctor.org, Prevent Blindness’ Children’s Vision Equity Alliance, and NEI.

Watch the live event

Other Events and Resources

Resource: The American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) developed an advanced retinal imaging patient guide in English and Spanish to educate the public about the advanced imaging technologies used by retina specialists.

Resource: The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) offers the Setting Your Sights program. This program aims to motivate and guide high school students by providing a hub with relevant materials — like educational resources, mentorship, and vlogs.

Resource: BrightFocus Foundation published an article about childhood glaucoma.

Resource: NEI Director Dr. Chiang was featured in Prevent Blindness’s Focus on Eye Health Expert Series and shared some pressing concerns about children’s eye health and vision, as well as how we can address them.

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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