Challenge
Vision health is important throughout a person’s life, including physical and social health, education, employment, and socioeconomic position. And unsurprisingly, reduced vision negatively affects a person’s ability to complete activities of daily living and increases risk of other health problems and premature death. Vision health is rarely integrated in public health programs to prevent and manage chronic diseases due to lack of resources and competing priorities. Therefore, many public health agencies lack the framework or guidelines to appropriately address vision and eye health as a public health issue.
Approach
KDHRC worked in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), and subject matter experts to develop Building Public Health Capacity to Enhance Vision and Eye Health: A Toolkit for Public Health Agencies and Their Partners. The Toolkit seeks helps state, tribal, local, and territorial public health agencies and their partners: (1) assess the level of vision impairment in their communities, (2) build effective partnerships, and (3) implement effective and sustainable interventions to improve vision and eye health.
Products
Download the Toolkit here: https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/programs/vision-toolkit.html
