at Prevent Blindness
The Center for Vision and Population Health is a national technical assistance and policy resource for advancing vision and eye health from a population health perspective.
Healthy vision can be a key component to independence and well-being for people of all ages. However barriers such as poor access to eye care, lack of insurance coverage, and inconsistent policies for eye health can prevent early detection and treatment of eye disorders. Prevent Blindness is committed to convening stakeholders in vision, public health, and patient advocacy to address the barriers to healthy vision and work to increase the uniformity of vision preservation nationally. To accomplish this, the Center for Vision and Population Health at Prevent Blindness (CVPH) has been established as a national coordinating body for effective practices, state-level technical assistance, and programmatic interventions.
In 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) published the landmark report Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow, defining vision and eye health problems as a growing public health concern for the nation. It proposed nine recommendations to improve vision and health equity in the United States.
Prevent Blindness, in partnership with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), convened a follow-up meeting of stakeholders to assess the feasibility of establishing a national technical assistance resource center for vision and eye health to advance the recommendation of the report and to generally elevate vision and public health as a national priority
Through this process, the Center was conceived to carry out the critical role as a convener of national experts on eye care, vision, and public health. It will collaborate with community, state, and national stakeholders. It will support state-level programs by delivering technical support and evidence-based interventions. While the Center’s activities will draw guidance from the NASEM report, it will also be responsive to emerging topics to sustain a population health approach to vision and eye health.
The Center will advance seven core functions:
Specifically, the Center will advance the seven core functions identified above by:
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness works to improve the nation’s vision and eye health by promoting advances in public health systems of care that support eye health needs, by advocating for public policies that emphasize early detection and access to eye care, by educating the American public on the importance of taking care of their eyes and their vision, and by advancing initiatives that ensure those living with vision loss are able to sustain a high quality of life. This work primarily focuses around ages and populations at highest risk and is supported and enhanced by a network of affiliates, regional offices, and other program partners. Prevent Blindness is deeply committed to working with states and stakeholders in diverse ways to develop comprehensive and sustainable vision and eye health programs via a consensus-based approach. By establishing the Center for Vision and Population Health at Prevent Blindness, a permanent home is in place to ensure an ongoing, coordinated effort for the advancement of vision in public health in the United States.