The Social and Economic Impact of Poor Vision

This paper aims to summarize the most reliable published data on the personal, social and economic impact of poor vision on four categories of people: children, people in the workplace , elderly and car drivers. It also highlights areas that should be further explored to raise awareness of the huge economic impact of poor vision in the world and identify some mechanisms that could help reduce this impact. CHILDREN 30% of children experience vision problems that have a significant impact in terms of long-term health, school performance and emotional/social development. n Visual difficulties affect children's ability to learn (three times more likely to fail at least one grade 1), resulting in academic under-achievement and risk of reduced adult literacy. This has a significant impact on professional and social fulfillment. n Vision problems cause developmental difficulties and have been linked to antisocial /delinquent behavior. In the USA, up to 70% of juvenile offenders have undiagnosed vision problems 2. WORkERS 33% of the world's working population has uncorrected vision problems that impact productivity with serious financial implications for the performance of economies worldwide. n $269 billion of productivity is lost worldwide due to uncorrected vision. 3 n Vision problems can reduce employees' performance by as much as 20% 4 and considerably affect employment opportunities, job satisfaction and job security. ELDERLy Poor vision disproportionately affects elderly people, negatively impacting their experience of a healthy ageing and increasing the burden and cost of medical services. n Poor vision limits people's ability to carry out daily living tasks and multiplies by 7 the risk of falls and hip fractures 5. n Visual impairment impacts psychological and emotional health of elderly people and increases five to nine fold the risk of cognitive decline and dementia 6. CAR DRIVERS 23% of drivers worldwide have uncorrected vision problems , impacting the safety of drivers, pedestrians and road users. n 59% of accidents can be linked to poor sight – such as failure to use corrective lenses or glare-related reasons 7. n The risk of car crash involvement increases 9% with visual impairment, and is higher for drivers whose visual function worsens as they get older 8. Greater public awareness of the importance of vision health is critical, as is mass screening to identify problems that can be corrected. Most visual impairments can be treated with cost effective services, for example with corrective eye glasses, to reduce the personal, …