8 Access to Eye Health Services
Bailie Featherston
Eye health continues to be an important aspect of the maintenance of holistic health. Eye health is when eye function, ocular health, and vision are improved to increase people’s overall wellbeing (Ramke et al., 2021). Recent studies have shown that greater than 11 million U.S. individuals, 12 years and older, require some sort of vision or ocular health service (CDC, 2020). However, regular visits to the optometrist are typically not one of people’s priorities regarding health care. On a global scale, a study indicates that over 440 million people across the world struggle with eye health conditions (Barman & Mishra, 2020). Despite these large numbers, a gap remains between need for vision care services and number of people who have the means and the motivation to obtain quality eye care.
In the United States, many men and women in the general population do not visit the eye doctor. Specifically, only 50% of the 93 million U.S. adults have accessed eye care in the last year (CDC, 2020). Furthermore, only 39% of U.S. children have participated in vision screenings (CDC, 2020). Eye conditions often go undetected because of decreased screening and lack of regular eye exams. This is concerning because some overarching conditions can be recognized during a routine eye exam, including diabetes, hypertension, and cancer (Stepko, 2021). Some other examples of common eye issues that can be found at regular eye exams include amblyopia, cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal detachments . Without regular eye exams that assess vision prescription and look at retina health, men and women may experience a decreased quality of life that can be prevented. By accessing eye health services, quality of life is increased through the preventative screenings and exams that create a decreased risk for disease by catching problems early and by allowing patients to achieve a better sense of sight through corrected vision.
Importantly, men are less likely to access eye health services. For example, a study was conducted to see if patients diagnosed with sarcoidosis were attending their recommended eye exams and found men were less likely to complete the appointments than women (Fidler et al., 2021). This finding of men not utilizing eye health services is due to multiple factors, including income and underlying barriers that come with increasing age. Often, vision insurance is separate from general insurance coverage and is usually not offered as a benefit within individuals’ general health insurance. This gap between vision insurance and health insurance can also enhance economic barriers to accessing eye care services because of added costs.
Due to men’s limited receipt of vision care services, preventions must be implemented to improve men’s overall health and quality of life. One of these interventions could be fostering increased doctor and patient collaboration to encourage men to be more involved in their eye health car