SHELLHARBOUR residents help to shine the spotlight on Australia’s eye health at the launch of nation-wide eye a survey in Illawarra last week.
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The National Eye Health Survey (NEHS) gave the opportunity for residents to have their eyes tested and be part of an Australian-first into eye health and research.
The NEHS team are moving around the country to map major eye conditions in Indigenous and non-Indigenous people across Australia through comprehensive eye testing.
Vision 2020 Australia CEO, Jennifer Gersbeck, said the results from the testing site in Shellharbour would form an important part of the research and help to deliver a clearer picture of the state of Australian eye health.
“The simple message that we are also getting out there is to get your eyes checked because early intervention is what it’s all about,” she said.
Principal Investigator Dr Mohamed Dirani said people feared losing their eyesight second to getting cancer, but in the case of blindness it was one of the most preventable conditions.
“We found that less than 20 per cent of Indigenous people were getting their eyes checked and 50 per cent of non-indigenous people,” he said.
“It’s all about education because 75 per cent of cases were preventable for the non-indigenous population and 95 per cent for indigenous.
“This survey will identify areas where better services are needed and a more defined delivery. It will also assess the impact of already introduced intervention services to see how well they have been going.”
Member for Throsby and Shadow Assistant Minister for Health Mr Stephen Jones said there were many flow-on effects from poor eye health, such as illnesses as a result of the restrictive nature of blindness as well as economic impacts.
The National Eye Health Survey is supported by funding from the Australian Government under the Chronic Disease Prevention and Service Improvement Fund, with other contributions coming from CERA, OPSM, Novartis, Zeiss, Brien Holden Vision Institute, Optometry Australia, NACCHO and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.