A guide to Australian eye health data
The Department of Health and Ageing has released the report it commissioned the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) to prepared which compiled details of key Australian data sources that are relevant to assessing prevalence and outcomes of eye diseases and injuries and eye health-care utilisation.
Eye health in Australia, the background paper to the National framework for action to promote eye health and prevent avoidable blindness and vision loss (the National eye health framework), reported that age-related macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, uncorrected or under-corrected refractive error, eye trauma and trachoma are the most prevalent causes of blindness and vision loss in Australia.
An estimated 9.4% of Australians aged 55 or older are visually impaired and about 1.2% are blind.
The combined impact of an ageing Australian population and the high age correlation of causes of vision loss indicates that the prevalence of visual impairment is set to increase over time in a policy-neutral environment.
The key areas for action within the National eye health framework provide a brief outline of the challenges to be addressed and a series of actions that might be utilised to meet these challenges.
