Aboriginal Vision Health Awareness Year

The Vision Institute of Canada is a non-profit organization dedicated to eye health education, research and charitable clinical services. The clinical staff and Board of Directors of the Vision Institute worked to make 2011 Aboriginal Vision Health Awareness Year

This eye and vision health awareness program educated optometrists, nurses, physicians and the Aboriginal community about the issue of preventable vision loss that is occuring due to the epidemic of diabetes affecting Canada's First Nation, Inuit and Metis people.

Nearly 1 in 5 Aboriginal people in Canada now live with diabetes. It is estimated that 20% of people with diabetes will suffer from vision loss leading to a dramatically reduced quality of life. Early detection and treatment of the ocular complications of diabetes can significantly decrease the incidence of vision loss. The 2011 Aboriginal Vision Health Awareness Year initiative worked to educated health-care workers, diabetes educators, and those involved in health-care policy, about the need for yearly comprehensive eye examinations leading to improved vision and eye health.

The 2011 Aboriginal Vision Health Awareness Year initiative also educated health-care workers and teachers, and those involved in education and health-care policy, about the need for comprehensive eye examinations for all Aboriginal children between the ages of 3 and 5 years.

Nearly 1 in 4 Aboriginal children is at risk for a vision problem. Eighty percent (80%) of learning in school is based on what a child sees. If children cannot see, it makes it harder for them to learn. A comprehensive eye examination between the ages of 3 and 5 can significantly improve a child's success at school and in life. Regular eye examinations are essential in maintaining healthy eyes and vision.

Activities for 2011 Aboriginal Vison Health Awareness Year included the distribution of copies of an Aboriginal Vision Health DVD Lecture Series (filmed at the Vision Institute's October 2010 Aboriginal Vision Health Conference) to optometrists across Canada as an Accredited Continuing Education Program. Copies of this DVD lecture series was also given to various Aboriginal oganizations including the Assembly of First Nations, the Chiefs of Ontario, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association, the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada, and others.

Together with the Canadian Association of Optometrists, the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health and the Southern Ontario Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative, the Vision Institute developed a series of posters and brochures to promote yearly comprehensisve eye examinations for people living with diabetes and for children. These posters were made available to Aboriginal communities, Friendship Centres and health clinics to raise awareness about the importance of good vision and eye health and to promote improved access to vision care services.

To download a Diabetes and Vision Health poster in English, click here
To download a Children's Vision poster in English, click here.

To download a Diabetes and Vision Health poster in French, click here.
To download a Children's Vision poster in French, click here.

To download a Diabetes and Your Eyes brochure, click on the language of your choice: 
English    French    Cree   Ojibway   Inuktitut   
To download a Cataracts brochure, click on the language of your choice: 
English    French    Cree   Ojibway   Inuktitut 
To download a Glaucoma brochure, click on the language of your choice: 
English    French    Cree   Ojibway   Inuktitut 

These posters and brochures were printed and mailed out across Canada to various Aboriginal communities and friendship centres. Special thanks to Alcon Canada for their financial support in the printing and distribution of this printed material.

To download a copy of the booklet: Children and Their Vision: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know, click here. This booklet was created in partnership with the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health in 2013. (©2014 NCCAH and Vision Institute. This publication was funded by the NCCAH through a financial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The views herein do not necessarily represent the views of PHAC.)

To download a copy of the Sagamok First Nation Children's Vision Care Project Report, please click here.

To download a copy of the August 2010 issue of the Canadian Journal of Optometry with it's focus on Diabetes and Aboriginal Vision Health, click here.

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