New On-Line Survey Quizzes Americans’ Knowledge of Eye Care Topics
(ARA) - True or False: It is more important for adults to wear sunglasses than it is for children to wear sunglasses.
If you answered “True,” you would be incorrect. The statement is false. The sun’s rays can cause damage over a period of years, so it’s important to begin wearing sunglasses in childhood. However, 80 percent of respondents agreed with that statement in just one of several questions included in the first American Eye-Q survey, created by the American Optometric Association (AOA), to determine how informed Americans were on a range of eye care topics. The telephone survey results revealed that while Americans are most worried about losing their sense of sight, their knowledge about ways to preserve eyesight is in need of improvement.
The survey also asked respondents the last time they visited an eye doctor; just over half of them had been to their eye doctors in the past year. The AOA Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend that an individual’s first eye exam should be at six months of age, at three years, prior to starting school, and then every two years thereafter. Annual eye exams are recommended beginning at age 60 when age-related eye problems increasingly begin to factor into a person’s overall health.
Individuals are encouraged to test their eye care knowledge, and then compare their answers with other respondents’ by logging on to a new, interactive Web-based version of the American Eye-Q survey available online at www.aoa.org.
“We want Americans to enjoy the highest quality of life possible through healthy lifestyle habits, and addressing eye care on a regular basis can go a long way in promising a lifetime of clear and healthy vision,” says Kerry Beebe, O.D., chair of the AOA’s Clinical Care Committee.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
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