[Nfbf-l] Levels of Visual Function

[Alan Dicey]

On Your Own - Facts and Statistics
Levels of Visual Function:
There are four levels of visual function, according to the International 
Classification of Diseases;
normal vision
moderate visual impairment
severe visual impairment
blindness

Moderate visual impairment combined with severe visual impairment are 
grouped under the term low vision: low vision taken together with blindness 
represents all visual impairment.

Legally Blind:
The federal statute states that blindness means central vision acuity 
(clearness of vision) of 20/200 in the more functioning eye with the use of 
corrective lens. Simply put, individuals who are incapable of reading the 
largest letter on an eye chart even while wearing corrective lens are deemed 
legally blind by the government.

Causes of Visual Impairments:
Globally the major causes of visual impairment are:
uncorrected refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism), 43 %
cataracts, 33%
glaucoma, 2%.


Fast Facts:
285 million people are visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are blind
and 246 have low vision.
About 90% of the world's visually impaired live in developing countries.
The number of people visually impaired from infectious diseases has
greatly reduced in the last 20 years.
80% of all visual impairment can be avoided or cured.

Estimates:

Almost all statistics on blindness are estimates, which mean that the 
numbers found in a sample are extrapolated to the entire population.
United States government agencies-including the Bureau of the Census, the
National Center for Health Statistics, and the Bureau of Labor
Statistics-use sophisticated statistical techniques that lead to
population estimates with great accuracy. Moreover, these techniques also
provide the margin of error.

Children: under age 15
An estimated 19 million children are visually impaired. Of these, 12
million children are visually impaired due to refractive errors, a
condition that could be easily diagnosed and corrected. 1.4 million are
irreversibly blind for the rest of their lives.
Blindness among Children through age 21 (2012):

·                 59,193
·                 By reporting agency
·                         Reported by state departments of education:
49,794 (84.1%)
·                         Reported by residential schools for the blind:
4,859 (8.2%)
·                         Reported by rehabilitation programs:  3,301 (5.6%)
·                         Reported by multiple disability programs: 1,239
(2.1%)
·                 By primary reading medium
·                         Braille readers: 5,186 (8.8%)
·                         Print readers: 16,635 (28.1%)
·                         Auditory readers:  4,728 (8.0%)
·                         Non-readers: 20,361 (34.4%)
·                         Pre-readers: 12,283 (20.7%)

Education attainment 21 - 64 (2011):
·                 Less than high school graduation: 4,232,100
·                 High school diploma or a GED: 1,061,600
·                 Some college education/associates degree:  939,700
·                 Bachelor's degree or higher: 374,400
Adults: age 55 and over
About 65 % of all people who are visually impaired are aged 50 and older,
while this age group comprises about 20 % of the world's population. With
an increasing elderly population in many countries, more people will be at
risk of age-related visual impairment.

Income Status, 2011:
·                 Median Annual Earnings: $33,200
·                 Median Annual Household Income: $32,600
·                 Number living below the poverty line: 1,002,700 (31.0%)

Supplemental Security Income 21 - 64:
received SSI benefits in 2011 was 604,700 (18.7%).
Job Capability:
Braille is a strategy that enables the blind to read and write. Through
the use of Braille and technology there are several employment
opportunities that are available to blind people. Blind people have been
successful in the field of accounting, law, customer service, travel,
stock brokerage , electrical engineering, teaching, and more.
Employment 21 - 64( 2011):
Employed: 1,225,080
Full-time/Full-year Employment: 770,000
Unemployment (in the labor force): 302,909
Unemployment (not in the labor force): 1,849,048
Therefore, for working age adults reporting significant vision loss, only
36.8% were employed.
Global response to the Prevention of Blindness:
Globally, 80% of all visual impairment can be prevented or cured. Areas of
progress over the last 20 years include:
Governments establishing national programs to prevent and control visual
impairment
eye care services increasingly integrated into primary and secondary
health care systems, with a focus on the provision of services that are
available, affordable and high quality
campaigns to raise awareness, including school-based education
stronger international partnerships, with engagement of the private sector
and civil society.
Data over the last 20 years shows that there has been significant progress
in preventing and curing visual impairment in many countries. Furthermore,
there has been a massive reduction in onchocerciasis-related blindness as
part of a significant reduction in the disease. This has been achieved
through a number of successful international partnerships.

Specific achievements include Ghana and Morocco, both of whom have
reported elimination of trachoma (2010 and 2007 respectively). Over the
last decade, Brazil has been providing eye care services through the
national social security system. Since 2009, China has invested over 100
million dollars in cataract surgeries. Oman has completely integrated eye
care service provision in the primary health care framework over the last
decade and since 1995 India has made available funds for eye care service
provisions for the poorest at district levels.
Its role is to:
develop policies and strategies to prevent blindness
to give technical assistance to Member States and partners
to monitor and evaluate programs;
to coordinate international partnerships.
In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the 2009-13 Action
Plan for the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment, a
roadmap for Member States, WHO Secretariat and international partners.

WHO works to strengthen national and country-level efforts to eliminate
avoidable blindness, help national health care providers treat eye
diseases, expand access to eye health services, and increase
rehabilitation for people with residual visual impairment. Building and
strengthening health systems is a particular area of focus.

WHO leads an international alliance of governments, private sector and
civil society organizations aiming to eliminate blinding trachoma from the
world by the year 2020.

For the last ten years WHO has worked with the International Agency for
the Prevention of Blindness in the global initiative "Vision 2020: the
Right to Sight".

Since 2004, WHO in partnership with Lions Clubs International has
established a  global network of 35 childhood blindness centers in 30
countries for the preservation, restoration or rehabilitation of sight in
children.
In response to the increasing burden of chronic eye disease WHO is now
developing policies and guidelines for diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma,
age-related macular degeneration and refractive errors.
Finally, to support comprehensive eye care systems, WHO provides
epidemiologic and public health technical support to its Member States.

With Best Regards,
God Bless,
Alan
Plantation, Florida
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