Nancy E. Oriol, MD¹, Rainelle White², Toni K. Williams², Erica B. McAuliffe-Esrick, MD³, Harsha S. Reddy, MD³, Alba Cruz, PhD, MPH², and Mark Zorn, OD, PhD⁴. (1) Office of Student Affairs, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, 617-432-1570, nancy_oriol@hms.harvard.edu, (2) The Family Van Program, Harvard Medical School, 1542 Tremont Street, Roxbury, MA 02120, (3) Harvard Medical School, 260 Longwood Avenue, TMEC-259 Holmes Society, Boston, MA 02115, (4) New England College of Optometry, 424 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02115

Glaucoma continues to pose a risk to the wellbeing of American elders, particularly racial and ethnic minorities. Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among African Americans who are 8 times more likely to suffer from glaucoma compared to Caucasians, and Latinos are also disproportionately at greater risk. Despite the presence of several prominent medical schools and teaching hospitals in Boston, glaucoma screening remains inaccessible to large populations. Barriers such as lack of or insufficient health insurance, and lack of knowledge regarding the risks of glaucoma compound this issue. The latter is exacerbated by the disease’s silent course. Community outreach and health education, especially for minority communities, among whom eye care is often considered a luxury, is one of the most viable means of increasing awareness, and promoting prevention. This presentation will describe how the Family Van Program of Harvard Medical School, a community-based mobile health services model of care with over a decade of experience, addresses the issue of glaucoma by providing glaucoma screening, eye health education, referrals and follow up for Boston’s most vulnerable populations through a collaborative network of partners, including several community health centers and the New England College of Optometry. It will also demonstrate how the Family Van experiential learning model helps providers contextualize the social determinants of health disparities and issues that affect the health of urban communities. Results from preliminary data analysis will be provided that document the success of the Family Van in addressing glaucoma through this innovative community based model.

Learning Objectives: