Healthy people 2020 vision objectives: Use of protective eyewear in recreational activities and hazardous situations around the home in the US

Almost all eye injuries can be prevented with the proper selection and use of eye and face protection. Healthy People 2020 vision objective V-6 is to increase the use of protective eyewear in recreational activities and hazardous situations around the home.

National data were collected on participation in sports, hobbies, or other activities that can cause eye injury and use of protective eyewear from a special supplement to the 2002 and 2008 National Health Interview Survey. Data were obtained for 31,044 adults 18 years and older and 8,256 children aged 6–17 years in 2002 and for 21,781 adults and 5,829 children in 2008. The eye injury-causing activities include baseball, basketball, soccer, and mowing the lawn.

About 30% of adults and half of children participated in eye injury-causing activities in 2008. Of those engaged in these activities, 39.7% of adults and 16.5% of children reported using protective eyewear all or most of the time; the use of eyewear increased compared with 2002 (33.1% for adults and 14.6% for children). Males were more involved in eye injury-causing activities and were more likely to use protective eyewear than females. Black and Hispanic persons were less likely to participate in these activities than white persons. Use of protective eyewear among those involved in eye injury-causing activities did not vary significantly by race/ethnicity or family income group.

This study presents national data on use of protective eyewear that were used to set the baseline and target for the Healthy People 2020 vision objectives.