People with visual impairments face unacceptable disparities with respect to personal independence and wellbeing. These inequalities are manifest particularly by increased challenges in accomplishing daily life activities; limited access to medical care, nutritious food, and other critical services; difficulties with emotional health, including depression; and decreased potential to learn successfully in school.
Our Impact Population
Sights for Hope’s impact population in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley – defined as Lehigh and Northampton counties – and Monroe County is comprised of two groups and totals approximately 31,000 people.
The first group consists of people ages 7 and up who have significant difficulty seeing while using glasses or equivalent solutions. This group benefits from our client and patient services – including our life skills education; technology solutions; support services; youth and family programs, including our Camp I CAN! summer program; and the Posch Braille Library. This group includes more than 17,100 people.
The second group consists children ages 0-6, essentially the population of pre-kindergarten children, who have undetected visual impairments that keep them from learning to their fullest potentials. This group benefits from our prevention services – including our free vision screenings and community education programs. This group includes more than 13,500 pre-kindergarten children.
Needs Addressed by Our Client and Patient Services
- A total of 280,000 Pennsylvanians report difficulty seeing with corrective lenses or blindness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This total represents 2.16% of Pennsylvania’s population as of July 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- The census bureau reports that the population of people ages 7 and up in our service area is 794,620 as of July 2021. That number multiplied by 2.16% determines that 17,164 people comprise this part of our impact population.
- Access to care has been identified as a high priority in both St. Luke’s University Network’s 2022 community needs assessment and Lehigh Valley Health Network’s 2019 needs assessment.
- In a 2020 report by United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, transportation was cited by senior citizens as the greatest source of difficulty in undertaking daily life activities.
- Adults with vision impairments often have lower rates of workforce participation and productivity and higher rates of depression and anxiety, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
- Vision impairments in older adults can contribute to social isolation, difficulty walking, and a greater likelihood of early entry into assisted living facilities, according to the WHO.
- Older Pennsylvanians with visual impairments are up to twice as likely to suffer a stroke, diabetes, falling, Cancer, and kidney disease than other Pennsylvanians in their age group, according to The Ohio State University College of Optometry and VisionServe Alliance.
- One-third of older Pennsylvanians with visual impairments have an annual household income of less than $20,000, according to The Ohio State University College of Optometry and VisionServe Alliance.
- Visual impairments affect an economic burden of $138 billion annually in the United States, as expressed in 2013 dollars, according to a study from the University of Chicago. Expressed in 2022 dollars, that burden is $168 billion annually – or approximately $500 for each American.
Needs Addressed by Our Prevention Services
- Approximately 80% of what a typical child learns comes through their visual system, according to researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
- Approximately 25% of pre-kindergarten children have a visual impairment significant enough to impact their learning, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). However, 85% of pre-kindergarten children do not receive a professional vision exam, according to the AOA.
- The United States Census Bureau reports that there are 63,820 children ages 0-6 in our service area as of July 2021. That number multiplied by 25% and then multiplied by 85% determines that 13,562 of these children have a visual impairment that keeps them from learning most effectively.
- An international study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has noted a sharp increase in nearsightedness in children ages 6-8 during the COVID-19 pandemic and its authors are concerned about the effects of prolonged exposure to digital screens.
- Our community education programs promote eye health, eye safety, and inclusion of people with visual impairments throughout our communities.