Healthy Eyes Healthy People and the Senior Vision Awareness Campaign

Healthy Eyes Healthy People (HEHP) is a community-based education and health promotion program created by the American Optometric Association. The goal of the HEHP program is to address the ten vision objectives of the Healthy People 2010, a health promotion and disease prevention initiative developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The ten vision objectives are:

• Increase percentage of persons receiving dilated eye examinations
• Increase percentage of preschool children receiving vision screenings
• Reduce uncorrected refractive errors
• Reduce visual impairment in children and adolescents
• Reduce visual impairment due to diabetic retinopathy
• Reduce visual impairment due to glaucoma
• Reduce visual impairment due to cataract
• Reduce occupational eye injury
• Increase use of personal protective eyewear
• Increase use of rehabilitative services and devices

HEHP provides grants for state optometric associations to fund the
implementation of programs to support the Healthy People 2010 vision objectives. For the MOA, our state program is called the Senior Vision Awareness Campaign. The purpose of this program is to educate our state’s seniors and their caretakers about the importance of a dilated eye examination in detecting sight threatening eye diseases that are most prevalent among the elderly.

Last year, the MOA participated in state and local senior health fairs, such as the Governor’s Conference on Vital Aging II at the Baltimore Convention Center and the Carroll County Seniors on the Go Expo. At these events, we provided pamphlets about these eye conditions affecting seniors, such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration. We have also visited local senior centers throughout the state, giving a short lecture about these eye conditions and answering questions individually.

This year, we have expanded our program by collaborating with the Maryland Society for Sight, and by offering a glaucoma screening using the FDT visual field screener. We also include the demonstration of low vision devices, such as prescription magnifiers and telescopes, during our program.

Our first event this year was held at the Elkton Senior Center, where 35 seniors attended our program. We are in the process of scheduling additional events for the year, with a goal of reaching all parts of Maryland. If you are interested in participating in our program, or know of a community or group that would benefit from this program, please contact Nina Doyle, O.D. at Nina.Doyle@gmail.com or 410-721-2500.

720 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230 TEL: (410) 727-7800• FAX: (410) 752-8295 EMAIL: MOA@assnhqtrs.com