Survey Quizzes Americans’ Knowledge of Eye Care Topics

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Survey Quizzes Americans’ Knowledge of Eye Care Topics

Save Your Vision Month promotes regular eye care for all ages

ST. LOUIS, MO, March 1, 2007 — Each year the American Optometric Association (AOA) dedicates the month of March to raising Americans’ awareness of the importance of regular eye care. Optometrists encourage individuals to consider eye and vision care an integral part of their regular health care routines before print gets blurry or a problem develops.

In honor of Save Your Vision Month, a new, interactive Web-based version of the American Eye-Q™ survey is available online at www.aoa.org. Individuals are encouraged to test their eye care knowledge, and then compare their answers with other respondents’.

AOA created the American Eye-Q™ survey to determine how informed Americans were on a range of eye care topics. Survey results revealed that while Americans are most worried about losing their sense of sight, their knowledge about ways to preserve eyesight is in need of improvement.

For example, one of the questions included in the first American Eye-Q® survey asked respondents to agree or disagree with the following statement: It is more important for adults to wear sunglasses than it is for children to wear sunglasses. Eighty percent of respondents agreed with the statement; however, the statement is false. In fact, the sun’s rays can cause damage over a period of years, so it’s important to begin wearing sunglasses in childhood.

“We want Americans to enjoy the highest quality of life possible through healthy lifestyle habits, and addressing eye care on a regular basis can go a long way in promising a lifetime of clear and healthy vision,” said Kerry Beebe, O.D., chair of the AOA’s Clinical Care Committee. “The Save Your Vision Month observance is an excellent opportunity for optometrists to concentrate their efforts on educating their patients and the public about the importance of regular eye care for the entire family.”

The survey asked respondents the last time they visited an eye doctor. Just over half of respondents had been to their eye doctors in the past year. The AOA Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend that an individual’s first eye exam should be at 6 months of age, at 3 years, prior to starting school, and then every two years thereafter. Annual eye exams are recommended beginning at age 60 when age-related eye problems increasingly begin to factor into a person’s overall health.

About the survey:The American Eye-Q™ survey was created by the American Optometric Association in conjunction with Opinion Research Corporation. Using a random digit dialing methodology, ORC interviewed 1,000 Americans 18 years and older who embodied a nationally representative sample of U.S. households in spring 2006. The margin of error is ±3.1 percent for the general population. All data are weighted to represent the U.S. general population with respect to age, gender and geographic region.

About the American Optometric Association (AOA):

The American Optometric Association represents more than 34,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and paraoptometric assistants and technicians. Optometrists provide more than two-thirds of all primary eye care in the United States and serve patients in nearly 6,500 communities across the country. In 3,500 of those communities they are the only eye doctors.

American Optometric Association doctors of optometry are highly qualified, trained doctors on the frontline of eye and vision care who examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the eye. In addition to providing eye and vision care, optometrists play a major role in a patient’s overall health and well-being by detecting systemic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

Prior to optometry school, optometrists undergo three to four years of undergraduate study that typically culminates in a bachelor’s degree with extensive, required coursework in areas such as advanced health, science and mathematics. Optometry school consists of four years of post-graduate, doctoral study concentrating on both the eye and systemic health. In addition to their formal training, doctors of optometry must undergo annual continuing education to stay current on the latest standards of care. For more information, visit www.aoa.org.

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