Research
The Social and Economic Impact of Poor Vision
This paper aims to summarize the most reliable published data on the personal, social and economic impact of poor vision on four categories of people: children, people in the workplace, elderly and car drivers.
It also highlights areas that should be further explored to raise awareness of the huge economic impact of poor vision in the world and identify some mechanisms that could help reduce this impact.
Greater public awareness of the importance of vision health is critical, as is mass screening to identify problems that can be corrected.
Most visual impairments can be treated with cost effective services, for example with corrective eyeglasses, to reduce the personal, social and economic burden of vision loss.
The impact of poor vision can be significant – resulting in poorer educational performance, reduced employment opportunities, lower economic participation and deteriorating later life health.
And it’s an issue affecting people in both developed and developing countries.
It is important to evaluate and measure the social impacts and costs if we are to target solutions to combat vision loss where they can most effectively contribute to reducing health costs, increasing productivity and improving quality of life.
This is ever more critical as the world’s population continues to grow and the demographics of an ageing population with declining vision, put increased pressure on health care services.