Surveillance of Disparities in Vision and Eye Health in the United States: an Expert Panel's Opinions

Purpose: To define surveillance approaches and metrics to capture the burden of vision health disparities and to identify properties of a surveillance system to guide public health interventions.

Design: Expert panel.

Methods: Analysis of relevant literature and deliberations of expert panel.

Results: The panel identified that the purpose of vision surveillance was to link data to public health interventions. Panel members noted the importance of assessing vision through self-reported and performance-based measures. Defined populations should be included in a surveillance system to assess disparities in utilization of eye care and vision loss. The panel suggested that ophthalmic/vision measures should be sustained in national surveys and suggested that a vision surveillance system should be forged among federal agencies.

Conclusions: Employing the 6 outlined strategies would improve vision surveillance and help reach the vision-related objectives of Healthy People 2020.