Key points
- Vision health is critically important for a person's health and quality of life.
- Reduced vision affects a person's ability to perform daily activities, and increases the risk of health problems.
- In the US, direct and indirect expenses for eye disorders across all ages costs billions of dollars.
- Find out more about how public health agencies can help through the Vision and Eye Health Toolkit.
About this toolkit
Vision health is rarely included in public health programs designed to prevent or manage chronic diseases. As a result, most public health agencies lack the framework or guidelines they need to appropriately address vision and eye health as a public health issue.
Building Public Health Capacity to Enhance Vision and Eye Health: A Toolkit for Public Health Agencies and Their Partners, can help state, tribal, local, and territorial public health agencies in these efforts.
How to use this toolkit
Four actions are recommended and described in the toolkit:
- Assess vision and eye health in your community.
- Build effective partnerships.
- Implement interventions to improve vision and eye health.
- Evaluate the impact of vision-related interventions.