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In This Issue :

Healthy People 2010

Vision Objectives Included in the Nation's Health Initiative

In a significant development for the vision community, vision objectives have been included in Healthy People 2010, a national initiative to prevent disease and promote health issues ranging from access to quality health care to vision and hearing.

"These objectives are important because they give vision a prominent place on the public health agenda," said Rosemary Janiszewski, the Healthy People 2010 coordinator for the National Eye Institute (NEI). "It is an acknowledgment from our country's leading health officials that vision plays a significant role in the nation's overall health."

Healthy People 2010 logo

Healthy People 2010's 10 vision objectives are included in a focus area on vision and hearing. This focus area states that the overall goal is to "improve the visual and hearing health of the nation through prevention, early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation." The objectives--developed by the vision community--are designed to help practitioners and policymakers increase the proportion of children and adults who receive regular eye care and address visual impairment due to certain eye diseases, refractive errors, and injury. The objectives also recognize the importance of increasing the use of vision rehabilitation services and devices by people with low vision. (A list of the Vision Objectives is on page 7.)

According to John Shoemaker, assistant vice president for research and public policy for Prevent Blindness America (PBA), a national voluntary health organization, including the vision objectives in Healthy People 2010 means that

  • The Federal government acknowledges the importance of vision as a health concern.
  • State and local health departments and community organizations have the power to achieve the objectives.
  • All members of the vision community share a common set of challenges.

The Healthy People 2010 objectives are a source of pride for those in the vision community. "With the inclusion of a designated focus area for vision, Healthy People 2010 has brought the importance of proper vision and eye health to the forefront," said Howard J. Braverman, OD, president of the American Optometric Association.

Ken Tuck, MD, past president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, said that the vision community "can be proud that measurable eye health objectives are prominent on the nation's public health agenda for the first time.

"Researchers have made significant advances in recent years in the treatment and prevention of debilitating eye conditions," Dr. Tuck continued. "However, scientific advances are not useful if the public and other health providers are unaware of signs and symptoms that may indicate eye problems and result in unnecessary loss of sight. This is why the educational component of Healthy People 2010 is so important."

Earlier versions of Healthy People--one in 1979 and a second in 1990--included only a few vision-related objectives found in other focus areas. For nearly a decade, vision organizations worked to highlight the importance of eye health in the nation's public health agenda. "The vision community was only a small voice among thousands commenting on many health objectives," PBA's Shoemaker said. "And we were lost in the crowd of the larger, broader health issues like cancer and diabetes."

For Healthy People 2010, the community came together and spoke with one voice. The NEI's Janiszewski credits the vision community for responding to the need to submit documentation that covered a new focus area on vision before the last public comment period was over. The NEI collected objectives from various groups, refined them, and wrote and submitted a "chapter" on vision. Several months later, the vision objectives were accepted and merged into a focus area that includes hearing objectives.

A woman getting an eye exam.

"Prevent Blindness America, the American Optometric Association, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the National Eye Health Education Program Partnership, and the total ophthalmic community should be recognized for the team effort they displayed in getting the vision objectives submitted under tight time constraints," Janiszewski said. "If it were not for their dedication to the mission of Healthy People 2010, we would not have succeeded in making eye health a priority in the 21st century."

Sieving Named New NEI Director

Photo of Doctor Sieving
Paul A. Sieving,
MD, PhD

Paul A. Sieving, MD, PhD, an internationally recognized expert on retinal degenerations, was named director of the National Eye Institute (NEI) in January. He will join the NEI in late spring. Dr. Sieving comes to the NEI from the Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he is director of the Center for Retinal and Macular Degeneration at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and the Paul R. Lichter Professor of Ophthalmic Genetics.

"I am honored to be joining the NEI at this important moment when scientific opportunities have never been greater," said Dr. Sieving. "I look forward to working with the NEI staff, the vision research community, and the public to improve eye health for all and quality of life for those with vision impairments."
Dr. Sieving's research at the University of Michigan focuses on the genetic basis for retinal and macular degenerations, and the basic biology of the retinal cells that degenerate and lead to vision loss. Dr. Sieving also conducts clinical investigations with individuals who have these conditions and their families.
An honors graduate of Valparaiso University in history and physics, Dr. Sieving completed an MS degree in physics at Yale University and a year at Yale Law School. He received an MD from the University of Illinois Medical School and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Illinois Graduate School. He was a resident in ophthalmology at the University of Illinois and did his postdoctoral fellowship in retinal physiology at the University of California, San Francisco, and his medical fellowship in inherited retinal degenerations at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Sieving has received many awards and honors, including the Senior Scientific Investigator Award from Research to Prevent Blindness and the Alcon Award from the Alcon Research Institute. He has served on several National Institutes of Health (NIH) study sections that review grant applications and on numerous editorial and advisory boards. He has received research grant support from NIH and various foundations since 1982.

Healthy People 2010

A Road Map to Better Health

Healthy People 2010 is a national road map for improving the health of all Americans during the first decade of the 21st century. Published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the document serves as a valuable guide for health planners in promoting health and preventing illness, disability, and premature death. Healthy People 2010 has two goals: increasing the quality and years of healthy life and eliminating health disparities.

"Healthy People 2010 reflects the very best in public health planning," said former DHHS Secretary Donna Shalala. "It is comprehensive; was created by a broad coalition of more than 350 organizations, advocates, and experts from many sectors; has been designed to measure progress over time; and, most important, clearly lays out a series of objectives to bring better health to all people in this country." Most states and many localities use the Healthy People framework to guide local health policies and programs. It represents the ideas and expertise of a diverse range of individuals and organizations concerned about the nation's health. Scientific experts from Federal agencies took the lead in developing the document.

"Healthy People 2010 takes into account the scientific advances that have taken place over the past 20 years in preventive medicine, disease surveillance, vaccine and therapeutic development, and information technology," said Surgeon General David Satcher. "It also mirrors the changing demographics of our country, the changes that have taken place in health care, and the growing impact of global forces on our national health status."

Healthy People 2010 builds on initiatives pursued over the past two decades. In 1979, Healthy People: The Surgeon General's Report provided national goals for reducing premature deaths and preserving independence for older adults. In 1990, Healthy
People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives
identified health improvement goals and objectives to be reached by the year 2000.

Healthy People 2010 continues this tradition. The document lists 467 specific health objectives within 28 focus areas and is the first report to address vision and hearing objectives in a separate focus area.

Healthy People 2010 states, "One of the most compelling and encouraging lessons learned from the last Healthy People initiative--Healthy People 2000--is that we, as a nation, can make dramatic progress in improving our health in a relatively short period of time. For example, during the past decade, we achieved significant reductions in infant mortality. Death rates for coronary heart disease and stroke have declined. But we still have a long way to go. Diabetes and other chronic conditions continue to present a serious obstacle to public health. Healthy People 2010 will guide practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in addressing these and emerging health issues, reversing unfavorable trends, and expanding past achievements in health."

Dr. Satcher said thatHealthy People 2010 "represents an opportunity for individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and their families. It challenges clinicians to put prevention into their practices. It requires communities and businesses to support health-promoting policies in schools, worksites, and other settings. It calls for scientists to pursue new research. Above all, it demands that all of us work together, using both traditional and innovative approaches, to help the American public achieve the 10-year targets defined by Healthy People 2010."

Nationwide Consortium Efforts

A Healthy Vision Consortium has been established to assist the professional, voluntary, and business sectors in achieving the vision objectives.

The Consortium represents a unified commitment for vision organizations and individuals to work together for a common goal: ensuring that vision information reaches every community nationwide. A wide range of individuals and groups concerned about eye health are joining the Consortium, promising to do their part in ensuring that the vision objectives in Healthy People 2010 are met. Consortium members agree to incorporate the vision objectives into their organization's strategies and programs, and report their organization's activities to the Healthy Vision Work Group, a cross section of vision representatives whose leadership has helped guide the development of the vision focus area. As a benefit for joining the Consortium, members have access to a Listserv where members can share resources, seek advice on conducting vision-related programs, and submit and receive news and announcements directly related to Healthy People 2010 activities. Consortium members receive up-to-date information pertaining to Healthy Vision.

Don't be left out! For more information about the Healthy Vision Consortium and how to join, visit the Healthy Vision Web site at www.healthyvision2010.org.

Healthy Vision 2010

Organizations Coming Together to Meet Vision Objectives

Across the country, a wide range of organizations--from state and local health agencies to vision associations--are coming together to meet the 10 vision objectives outlined in Healthy People 2010, the nation's public health agenda.

Healthy People Logo

"Healthy Vision is the term used to describe activities and strategies that support this endeavor," said Rosemary Janiszewski, the Healthy People 2010 coordinator at the National Eye Institute (NEI). "Healthy Vision 2010 is about working together, not as special interest groups but as a unified and cohesive community, to achieve our common objectives. The vision community must take a leadership role in promoting healthier behaviors. Organizations, professional associations, and individual clinics and practices must be encouraged to integrate the objectives into their strategic plans."

A basic premise of Healthy People 2010 is that the health of the individual is linked to the health of the community as a whole, which determines the overall health of the nation. This premise--the root of Healthy Vision--offers a simple but powerful suggestion: provide information about how to improve health in a way that enables diverse groups to combine their efforts and work as a team, creating an effective tool for improving the health of communities.

"To support Healthy Vision, we must build public-private partnerships and educate nonvision groups about why the vision objectives are important to our nation's health," Janiszewski said. "Healthy Vision is designed to help individuals and organizations determine what they can do to help improve the nation's visual health. Only by working together can we achieve these objectives."

Meeting the Challenge

Across America, professional associations, organizations, and business and community groups are busy incorporating the Healthy People 2010 vision objectives into their daily activities. Here is what some of them are doing to meet the challenge. "Healthy Vision is an opportunity for us to raise issues on vision at a state and local level where it matters most," said John Whitener, OD, assistant director of government relations for the American Optometric Association (AOA). "It's easy for a national association to say, 'Yes, we support the objectives.' The hard part is building support for them at a state and local level."

Boy with protective eyewear.

The AOA's Public Health and Disease Prevention Committee has been seeking out state health departments that have incorporated vision objectives into their Healthy People 2010 health plans. Dr. Whitener said he would like to find a state model that would include activities such as utilizing volunteers who spread the Healthy Vision messages, gathering data and resources that can help increase the proportion of Americans who receive regular dilated eye exams, and increasing the number of children with vision problems who receive vision care. "Before Healthy Vision, each association was separately doing a little of this and a little of that," Dr. Whitener said. "Now that we have the vision community working together, it's an opportunity to raise the issue of vision care in fresh and new ways."

Two objectives of particular interest to Dr. Whitener are increasing the proportion of preschool children age five and under who receive vision screening, and reducing uncorrected visual impairment resulting from refractive error. "Many times these issues do not get addressed because children typically do not know that they have a vision problem," Dr. Whitener said. "There are also countless families that may not be able to afford good eye care," resulting in increased visual impairment and lost productivity.

The AOA recently developed information for various committee volunteers that addresses the Healthy People 2010 vision objectives in program planning. For example, AOA's Low Vision Section is working to improve referrals for rehabilitation services and adaptive devices from health providers, health care organizations, and the public.

Carrie Kovar, manager of public health and manpower policy for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), said that Healthy Vision complements the AAO's mission to ensure that the public can obtain the best possible eye care. "We are educating our membership about Healthy People 2010 so they can work with state ophthalmic societies in advocating the inclusion of these vision objectives in state health initiatives," she said.

Kovar said that several vision objectives, such as reducing blindness due to cataract, glaucoma, and diabetes-related eye disease, are already targeted by the foundation of AAO's "EyeCare America--National Eye Care Project," a nationwide outreach program designed to provide medical eye care to the nation's senior citizens. Since the program's inception in 1986, about 560,000 Americans age 65 and older have been helped by the program. Kovar said that the AAO introduced the "EyeCare America--Children's Project" in 1998. This program provides education to parents and physicians about eye diseases and disorders in young children under age five, before learning is impaired.

Difference in Vision Care

The Healthy People 2010 vision objectives will make a big difference in vision care and vision rehabilitation over the next several decades, according to Cynthia Stuen, senior vice president for education at Lighthouse International, a vision education, rehabilitation, research, and advocacy organization.

"I look at Healthy Vision as a wonderful partnership of nearly every organization in the vision community, raising public and professional awareness that vision impairment has been overlooked for too long," Stuen said. "I think what's nice about Healthy Vision is that the NEI is a catalyst for mobilizing people. It is pulling private and public sectors together." Stuen said that since most organizations involved in Healthy Vision have resources to share, duplication of efforts would be minimized. "The real challenge to the professional community is to raise awareness, gather data, and fund research among many other activities," Stuen said.

Value of Vision Care

The Vision Council of America represents 750 suppliers that market vision products and services to the nation's ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. "Vision is a major public health issue that the nation needs to address," said William Wilson, representing the Vision Council of America. "Part of our mission is to create awareness of the value of vision care, and that's what's at the heart of Healthy Vision."

The Vision Council already addresses several of the Healthy People 2010 vision objectives. Its "ABCs of Eye Care" program addresses the second objective: increase the proportion of preschool children aged five years and under who receive vision screening. The ABCs program recommends an eye exam for each child every school year to ensure early detection and treatment of any vision problems that may affect learning.

Wilson points to recent Kentucky legislation that requires every first grader to obtain an eye examination. The Vision Council is cooperating with the AOA in developing strategies to persuade other states to follow suit. "If children can't see, they may be labeled dumb," Wilson said. "A whole sequence of social problems can follow, just because the child can't read the chalkboard well and may need some vision correction."

The Council's "Envision Yourself" Program helps consumers choose the appropriate eyewear, both for fashion or lifestyle considerations and for health and safety. For example, sunglasses reduce the effects of harmful ultraviolet rays, which are a risk factor for certain eye diseases. Impact-resistant lenses are important for safety on the job and when playing sports.

"We need to get in the same mindset for our vision as we have about our teeth," Wilson said. "We hear the public health messages about our teeth and go to the dentist. If we get the message ingrained in people that they need to take care of their eyes, they will eventually start the appropriate behavior."

Community Cooperation

A broader view of the Healthy People 2010 vision objectives is taken by Barry Barresi, OD, vice president for clinical care and services and professor of clinical health policy at the New England College of Optometry in Boston.

West Virginia takes a lead in incorporating the vision objectives in their Healthy WV 2010.
West Virginia takes a lead in
incorporating the vision objectives in
their Healthy WV 2010. Left to right:
Vernon Odom, Ph.D., WV University
Eye Institute; Jennifer Weiss, WV
Bureau of Public Health; Tom Griffen,
OD, WV Optometric Association.

"We'd like to use Healthy Vision as a basis to develop partnerships with health care providers both inside and outside the vision community," Dr. Barresi said. "We want to introduce the cooperative concept as a vehicle to get the primary medical staff, nurse practitioners, and optometrists to work collectively toward the objectives in Healthy People 2010."

This spring, Dr. Barresi will be working with the educational program coordinators in 10 community health centers across Boston to establish the partnership. "Our key goals are improving referrals from within the medical system, monitoring appropriate follow-up care, and reaching those in the community who aren't using the health care centers," Dr. Barresi said. By the fall, Dr. Barresi hopes to have faculty and students from Boston-area schools of nursing and the New England College of Optometry working collectively toward the Healthy People 2010 objectives.

"One of our challenges is to ascertain whether patients are using the other services at the health care center," Dr. Barresi said. "Are people at the center being treated for diabetes but not using the vision care services to check for related eye disease?

"Healthy Vision is really about communities and local agencies establishing their own benchmarks, where health care providers set their own individualized goals," Dr. Barresi said. "When these goals are combined, they will help meet the vision objectives of Healthy People 2010. It's translating the national objectives into a meaningful program on the local level.

"It is unrealistic to think that optometrists and others within the vision community can, by themselves, reach the Healthy People 2010 objectives," Dr. Barresi said. "The vision community can't do it alone. We need to find different and creative ways to reach out to health care providers on a community level. In our case, we are going to them directly."

Vision Objectives: Focus Area 28

Goal: Improve the visual and hearing health of the nation through prevention, early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Vision Objectives
28-1 (Developmental) Increase the proportion of persons who have a dilated eye examination at appropriate intervals.
28-2 (Developmental) Increase the proportion of preschool children aged five years
and under who receive vision screening.
28-3 (Developmental) Reduce uncorrected visual impairment due to refractive errors.
28-4 Reduce blindness and visual impairment in children and adolescents aged 17 years and under.
28-5 (Developmental) Reduce visual impairment due to diabetic retinopathy.
28-6 (Developmental) Reduce visual impairment due to glaucoma.
28-7 (Developmental) Reduce visual impairment due to cataract.
28-8 (Developmental) Reduce occupational eye injury.
28-9 (Developmental) Increase the use of appropriate personal protective eyewear in recreational activities and hazardous situations around the home.
28-10 (Developmental) Increase vision rehabilitation.
28-10(a) (Developmental) Increase the use of rehabilitation services by people with visual impairments.
28-10(b) (Developmental) Increase the use of visual and adaptive devices by people with visual impairments.

For More Information

For more information about Healthy Vision, contact Rosemary Janiszewski at 301-496-5248 or via e-mail at rxj@nei.nih.gov.

For information on Healthy People 2010, visit the Healthy People 2010 Web site at www.health.gov/healthypeople or call the toll-free number 800-367-4725.

Toolkits, Web Site Help Build Healthy People 2010 Momentum

The Healthy Vision Web Site

The Healthy Vision Web site, www.healthyvision2010.org, is a communication tool that provides a wide spectrum of helpful information to state and local health agencies, vision associations, and community organizations.

Healthy People Website

The site provides easy access to the vision objectives' four main categories: Examinations and Prevention, Eye Diseases, Injury and Safety, and Vision Rehabilitation. In each category are the relevant objective(s), background information and data (if available) for each objective, and the resources available to help achieve that objective. Live links take users to organizations with materials and resources they will find invaluable.

A fifth category--Select Populations--provides links to resources and information on working with certain populations, such as children/adolescents, older adults, and racial/ethnic minorities. The Healthy Vision Web site also provides valuable information on the Healthy Vision Consortium, toolkits, announcements, and other related news, as well as links to the main Healthy People 2010 Web site, where users can view the complete Healthy People 2010 document.

Toolkits Support Healthy People 2010 Activities

Two resources to assist in planning Healthy People 2010 activities are available. These publications provide guidance, technical materials, and resources to help states, territories, and tribes.

Healthy People 2010 Toolkit Logo

The Healthy People Toolkit was developed with assistance and guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the Public Health Foundation. The suggested processes, tools, and resources in this toolkit can help states and communities build on past successes and round out their approaches to planning and developing year 2010 objectives. The Healthy People Toolkit can be found at web.health.gov/healthypeople/state/toolkit.

The Healthy Vision Toolkit provides easy and practical ways to incorporate vision into existing health programs and activities. Building on the foundation provided in the Healthy People Toolkit, the Healthy Vision Toolkit is specific to the 10 vision objectives. It provides such tools as camera-ready art for booklets, drop-in articles and other promotional materials, vision resources, and data collection and assessment tools. In addition, the kits describe how communities can "adopt" an objective. A link to the Healthy Vision Toolkit can be found at www.healthyvision2010.org.

Collecting Vision Data

Developmental Objectives Need Data to Measure Changes

Collecting vision data by 2004--when the mid-decade review of Healthy People 2010 vision objectives is scheduled--is essential to supporting the objectives. Many of the objectives in Healthy People 2010 identify achievable health targets--that is, the current extent of a health problem is known and the goal addresses the problem. These are called "measurable" objectives. "Developmental" objectives are also included in the Healthy People 2010 document. For these objectives, researchers do not yet have national data.

The one measurable vision objective is 28-4: reduce blindness and visual impairment in children and adolescents aged 17 years and under. In 1997, 25 per 1,000 children and adolescents were blind or visually impaired. The Healthy People 2010 target is reducing this number to 20 per 1,000 children and adolescents.

Each measurable objective has an "operational definition" that assists researchers and statisticians in interpreting and comparing the data with research data from national, state, and local government agencies and the private sector. The remaining nine vision objectives in Healthy People 2010 are developmental. "Developmental objectives indicate areas that need to be placed on the national agenda for data collection," according to Healthy People 2010. "They address subjects of sufficient national importance in which investments should be made over the next decade to measure their change."

Most developmental objectives do have potential sources of data and reasonable expectations of data points by 2004. These data points will facilitate setting 2010 targets in the mid-decade review of Healthy People 2010. Developmental objectives with no baseline at the midcourse review will be dropped.

To ensure that data for all the developmental objectives are available for the 2004 review, the National Eye Institute is working with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). NCHS will create a vision supplement that will be administered with the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in 2002. The NHIS is a continuing, nationwide survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, of as many as 125,000 Americans. The NHIS provides health statisticians with valuable information about human health, race, ethnicity, gender, education level, family income, geographic location, and disability status.

Once these national data become available, a notice will be sent to all vision consortium members, and data will be posted on the Healthy Vision 2010 Web site at www.healthyvision2010.org. For general information about tracking objectives, visit the Healthy People 2010 Web site at www.health.gov/healthypeople. Once inside, click on "Publications," then scroll down to "Tracking Healthy People 2010: Second Edition (2000)."

Kupfer Steps Down After 30 Years at NEI

Photo of Carl Kupfer, MD
Carl Kupfer, MD

Former National Eye Institute (NEI) Director Carl Kupfer, MD, stepped down last July after serving as the NEI's only director for 30 years. "We have seen great advances in treating eye disease and preventing vision loss, and as a researcher, it is immensely fulfilling to know that the sight-saving treatments we developed have helped prolong vision and improved people's quality of life," Dr. Kupfer said. "My journey at the NEI and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been richly rewarding."

Dr. Kupfer served for six NIH directors and six U.S. presidents, and oversaw the growth of the NEI budget from $24 million in 1970 to about $500 million today. Since stepping down in July, he is devoting his time to completing a catalog of the Cogan Collection, a compilation of Dr. David Cogan's clinical cases and pathology reports on more than 50,000 patients. He is also seeing patients as part of his clinical research activities at the NIH Clinical Center.

Vision Objectives Win Award

The vision objectives of Healthy People 2010 have earned the 2000 Outstanding Project Award from the American Public Health Association's (APHA) Vision Care Section.

The Outstanding Project Award recognizes a person, group, or institution that has contributed significantly to the advancement of vision care in the public health field. The presentation was made during the APHA's Annual Meeting in Boston last November. "This new vision chapter heightens the public health community's awareness of eye-related issues that impact the quality of life of all Americans," said R. Norman Bailey, OD, Committee Chair of the APHA's Vision Care Section Awards. "The inclusion of these 10 objectives in our nation's official public health plan will help improve the nation's vision and eye health through disease prevention, early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation."

The NEI group accepting their award.
Accepting the APHA award are (left to right) John Whitener,
John Shoemaker, Bill Wilson, Rosemary Janiszewski,
Cynthia Stuen, and Norma Bowyer.

Dr. Bailey recognized the contributions of John Shoemaker of Prevent Blindness America; William Wilson of Vision Council of America; Cynthia Stuen of Lighthouse International; and the American Optometric Association's (AOA) Norma K. Bowyer, OD, Michael Duenas, OD, Robert Kleinstein, OD, Satya Verma, OD, and John Whitener, OD. Accepting on behalf of the group was Rosemary Janiszewski, Healthy People 2010 coordinator for the National Eye Institute. "These individuals have been strong advocates over the years for the inclusion of vision and eye related health needs in a separate chapter of Healthy People and were involved in writing the specific objectives," Dr. Bailey said. "The APHA's Vision Care Section acknowledges their persistent efforts in this noble public health effort."

"This award publicly recognizes the collective work of many groups and gives further visibility to the vision objectives of Healthy People," said the AOA's Dr. Whitener. "It's important for us, as eye care professionals, to get the message out to health professionals outside of the vision care community that vision objectives are a new part of the Healthy People program. While the vision care community already recognizes the problems and issues contained in the Healthy People objectives, the bigger task is getting these vision objectives more visibility and recognition by the broader public health community. The APHA award is a perfect opportunity for us to do that because the organization is one of the oldest and largest public health institutions in this country and has members from all health professions."

HP2010 Vision Bookmark

HP2010 Vision bookmark

To order quantities of the HP2010 Vision bookmark, write or call
Healthy Vision
2020 Vision Place
Bethesda, MD 20892-3655
800-869-2020
or visit our Web site at www.healthyvision2010.org

Healthy Vision Work Group

Each Healthy People 2010 focus area has established a work group that guides its activities. The Healthy Vision Work Group consists of a cross section of vision representatives whose leadership has helped guide the development of the vision focus area.

Kate Achelpohl
Vision Council of America

Lois Albarelli
Administration on Aging

Ed Bettinardi
Low Vision Council

Norma K. Bowyer, OD,
MPH, FAAO

American Optometric Association

John Cahill
New York State Health Department

Ellis Davis
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, DHHS

Michael P. Davis
National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

Anne Harman, RN, MSN
West Virginia University

Paul Holland, OD, MHSA
Indian Health Service

Linda Huss
National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

Larry L. Jackson, PhD
National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health

Rosemary Janiszewski,
MS, CHES

National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

Carrie Kovar
American Academy of Ophthalmology

Joseph S. LaMountain
Vision Council of America

Andrew G. Lee, MD
University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics

Janis Marshall
Contact Lens Manufacturers Association

Robert McNellis, MPH, PA-C
American Academy of Physician Assistants

Alberta Orr
American Foundation for the Blind

Jinan B. Saaddine, MD, MPH
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DHHS

John Shoemaker
Prevent Blindness America

Robert Sperduto, MD
National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

Cynthia Stuen, DSW
Lighthouse International

Jo Svochak
Contact Lens Manufacturers Association

Althea L. Turk, MD
The Links, Incorporated

Martina Vogel-Taylor
National Institutes of Health

John Whitener, OD, MPH
American Optometric Association

William Wilson
Vision Council of America

Low Vision Exhibit Earns Creativity Award

The National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) recently presented the National Eye Institute (NEI) with a Creativity Award for the easy-to-understand language used in NEI's new traveling exhibit on low vision. The award was one of four presented to the National Institutes of Health.

"We designed the exhibit so that the public would find it easy to understand," said Judith Stein, NEI's Associate Director for Communication, Health Education, and Public Liaison. "It is important that the NEI communicate health messages clearly and concisely to its most important audience: the American public."

exhibit in a mall

The exhibit--THE EYE SITE: A Traveling Exhibit on Low Vision for Shopping Centers--shows how an increasing number of people are living successfully with low vision, what people can do about their low vision, and how they can maintain their quality of life. It will make its way to shopping malls around the country during the next several years.

The exhibit, part of the NEI's Low Vision Education Program, includes five colorful kiosks designed to attract a cross section of the population, from young people to senior citizens. A highlight of the exhibit is an innovative, interactive multimedia touchscreen program. The program explains what low vision is and what can be done about it, and offers personal video accounts of people living with low vision, showing how they cope with their vision loss and overcome the challenges of daily living.

The touchscreen program and the exhibit's audio presentations are bilingual--English and Spanish.

For information about hosting THE EYE SITE, visit the NEI Web site at www.nei.nih.gov/nehep/eyesite.

New Low Vision Resources

  • Issues in Low Vision Rehabilitation: Service Delivery, Policy, and Funding (AFB Press; December 2000), edited by Robert W. Massof and Lorraine Lidoff, provides a vital exploration of the ideas and strategies necessary to confront the urgent need for expanded services for people with low vision. Geared toward optometrists, ophthalmologists, low vision service providers, and other allied personnel, this book provides detailed information on

    AFB Logo

    • The growing demand and the need for low vision rehabilitation as a health care service
    • The financing of low vision rehabilitation and the dynamics of managed care
    • Ways to measure the benefits of low vision rehabilitation and other critical health policy issues

    For more information, contact AFB Press at 800-232-3044 or visit the AFB Web site at http://www.afb.org/pub_new_featured.asp.

  • The Lighthouse Handbook on Vision Impairment and Vision Rehabilitation (Lighthouse International and Oxford University Press, May 2000) brings together the essential scientific, medical, clinical, educational, and policy-related aspects of vision impairment and vision rehabilitation. Featuring more than 70 original chapters written by leading experts in several fields, The Lighthouse Handbook offers the latest thinking about a wide range of vision related topics. Also noteworthy is the volume's extensive coverage of low vision treatment, clinical and rehabilitation issues, the specific needs of children and older adults, the ways vision impairment affects individuals of all ages, and vision rehabilitation practice in different countries. The handbook is edited by Barbara Silverstone, DSW; Mary Ann Lang, PhD; Bruce P. Rosenthal, OD; and Eleanor E. Faye, MD.

    Lighthouse Logo

    Log on to www.lighthouse.org to find out how you can order your copy from the publisher, Oxford University Press, or from Amazon.com.

Low Vision Booklet Now Available in Spanish

Low Vision Booklet

The National Eye Health Education Program has published a Spanish-language version of What You Need To Know About Low Vision. The new booklet, ¡Ojo con su visión! Sepa qué hacer si tiene baja visión, is a large print publication that helps people with vision loss and their families and friends better understand low vision. It features people living with low vision and depicts people using low vision devices. The booklet provides information on the resources available to help those who cannot see as well as they once did.

To order free copies, call 800-869-2020 or visit www.nei.nih.gov/nehep/lowvis.asp.



National Eye Health Education Program
National Eye Institute National Institutes of Health,
Public Health Service,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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Department of Health and Human Services NIH, the National Institutes of Health USA.gov