Review Article
Year: 2019 | Month: February | Volume: 9 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 287-294
Vision Health and Public Health Concepts: Overview for Helping Vision Health Activities in Developing Countries
Dr GV Fant
Public Health Epidemiologist, Visiting Professor, Public Health (Epidemiology & Biostatistics),
Jodhpur School of Public Health, Rajasthan, INDIA
ABSTRACT
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that an estimated 1.3 billion people across the globe live with some type of vision impairment. Globally, the leading causes of vision impairment are uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts. WHO, also, found that 80% of all vision impairments can be considered avoidable. The health prevention and disease control focus of public health suggests that the practice of public health might be a component of community level activities designed to improve vision health and prevent vision loss among the population. A review of the concepts of vision health and the application of public health is presented to help public health professionals who plan to partner with community leaders and other vision care professionals to help prevent vision loss, especially in developing countries. This review is designed to guide the reader into an appreciation for the connection between vision health and public health for preventing vision loss at the community level. This paper is not intended to provide vision treatment advice for individuals needing vision care services.
Key words: Vision Health, Vision Loss Prevention, Public Health, Applied Epidemiology, Developing Countries