141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

279702
Children's visual acuity testing: A nationally representative study of prevalence and locations

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 8:30 AM - 8:45 AM

Kathleen S. O'Connor, MPH , Division of Health Interview Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD
Rosa Avila, MSPH , School of Public Health, Health Services Department, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Vision testing in children allows some eye problems to be detected early when they can be more easily corrected, which may foster development. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) currently recommends that all children receive visual acuity testing as part of a comprehensive screening at least once between 3 and 5 years of age. We will use data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, to study the prevalence of distance visual acuity testing and identify the locations where these tests most frequently occurred for US children aged 3 to 17 years. We will also ascertain whether the socioeconomic and demographic factors that are associated with the receipt of testing differ by place. This cross-sectional household telephone survey collected data for over 95,000 children nationally. To identify children who had their visual acuity tested, respondents for children aged 5 years and older were asked “During the past 2 years…has (child) had (his/her) vision tested with pictures, shapes, or letters?”; respondents for children less than 5 years old were asked if the children ever had their vision tested. If children were tested, respondents were then asked where the test(s) occurred (eye doctor's office, general doctor's office, clinic, school, or some other place). Analyses of these data will yield new information on the distribution of visual acuity testing across various settings.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Describe the prevalence of distance visual acuity testing in 2011-2012 among US children aged 3 to 17 years, and places where these tests most frequently occurred List related socioeconomic, demographic, and health care factors for receipt of testing by place Compare related socioeconomic, demographic, and health care factors for receipt of testing across places

Keywords: Vision Care, Children and Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I spent the previous five years working at the National Center for Health Statistics as a part of the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Surveys staff. I am an expert in the design and content of the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), and have actively participate in the development of national chartbooks of health indicators and research on children's health disparities using NSCH data.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.