Healthy People 2010--vision objectives for the nation

In January 2000, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released new national health goals and objectives in a report entitled Healthy People 2010. This national report includes specific objectives for improving the vision of people in the United States during the 2000-2010 decade through prevention, early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation. The vision objectives, along with other health objectives, are designed to help the nation achieve two major outcomes: (1) increase the quality and years of healthy life and (2) eliminate health disparities among different groups. These health objectives will strongly influence many health care programs and the provision of health care through laws, regulations, reimbursements, and clinical guidelines enacted by federal and state agencies.

The purpose of this article is to inform optometrists about the new Healthy People 2010 vision objectives.

A summary of the Healthy People process for developing the objectives--and the specific vision objectives--is provided. These objectives address many important areas, including: regular dilated eye examinations; vision screening for preschool children; uncorrected visual impairment due to refractive errors; blindness and visual impairment in children and adolescents; visual impairment due to diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and cataracts; occupational eye injury; the use of personal protective eye wear in recreational activities and hazardous situations around the home; and the use of vision rehabilitation services and adaptive devices by people with visual impairments.

These new national health goals and objectives will impact optometrists. Therefore, it is important that optometrists understand these objectives and actively work to help implement them at the national, state, and local levels. By doing this, they can help provide the services needed to reduce visual impairments and improve the vision of people in their communities.