Causes of Visual Impairment

Global

• 47.8% Cataract
• 13% other -trauma etc
• 12.5% Glaucoma
• 10.6% AMD
• 3.3% Corneal Opacity
• 4.8% DR
• 3.9% Childhood Blindness
• 3.6% Trachoma
• 0.8% Onchocerciasis

Cataract

• Affects about 16m worldwide
• An IOL costs about 10 dollars

Onchocerciasis

• Control programme in west africa over 11 countries which protected 30m people including children, costs $1 per person

Vit A Deficiency

• Xerophthalmia (dry eyes) causes 350,000 children to become blind per annum
• Prevented by good diet with fruit and veg etc

Diabetes

• 2% of the UK pop are known to have it, 10% will have DR that requires ophthalmological intervention
• Untreated 6-9% of those with prolif. DR would become blind each year
• Affects working age group
• Screening and treatment is expensive

Preventing Blindness Worldwide

• Immunisation
• Nutrition & Education
• Personal Hygiene
• Sanitation
• Training and local medical facilities

Support for the Visually Impaired in the YooKay

• Social work - centre for sensory impaired people provides info, advice, equipment, training, certification/registration eye clinic, technical services & library
• RNIB - charity, provides training and rehab, wide range of non-optical LVAs, braille, talking books, advice & campaign for equal rights eg lobbies for provision of new drugs, computer training, funding/carrying out research
• RNIB training courses - goal to provide VIPs with skills, qualifications and confidence to remain in work or obtain employment. Have learning resource centre with study and library area, classrooms, training rooms, recording studio, interview suite, guide dog facilities, cafe_bar, sports facilities, accommodation
• RNIB talking book service - Annual subs, NVA is
• Royal National College for the blind - skills for independent living, academic studies, GCSE/A-Level/AS Levels/BTEC, GNVQ, AVCE
• Royal Blind School in Edinburgh - day/residential school for pre-, primary and 2ary. Scottish braille press there too
• Talking Newspaper Assoc of UK - local volunteers, local press, weekly editions, national newspapers and magazines, annual subs
• Calibre - adult and children's compact cassette library, 6000 adult and 1000 children's books
• National Library Of The Blind 350,000 braille and Moon books, 13,500 music scores, electronic books
• Playback - Glasgow City Council 1976 centre for sensory impairment, registered charity w/80 volunteers, 46,000 cassettes a month. Magazines, newspapers, tape library and reading service