Evaluation of Vision Referral Program With School-Aged Children and Their Parents/Guardians

Vision plays a key role in a child's development. Early detection and treatment of vision abnormalities decreases future complications. Follow-up vision care is a common problem. Barriers to vision care include financial cost, lack of insurance knowledge to cover costs, and disbelief of vision results. The purpose of this evidence-based pilot project was to improve the rate of follow-up vision care obtained by school-aged children. The target population was school-aged children from kindergarten to fifth grade at an elementary school within Lake County, Ohio. The vision referral program included phone calls to families to identify and overcome barriers to obtaining vision care. Barriers identified with the target population include disbelief of vision results, lack of knowledge about vision health, and financial cost. Results indicated an increase of vision care rates during the 2017-2018 academic year by 60% above baseline rates from the previous academic year.