The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.

When children and adults apply for disability benefits and claim that a visual impairment has limited their ability to function, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) is required to determine their eligibility. To ensure that these determinations are made fairly and consistently, SSA has developed criteria for eligibility and a process for assessing each claimant against the criteria. Visual Impairments: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits examines SSA's methods of determining disability for people with visual impairments, recommends changes that could be made now to improve the process and the outcomes, and identifies research needed to develop improved methods for the future. The report assesses tests of visual function, including visual acuity and visual fields whether visual impairments could be measured directly through visual task performance or other means of assessing disability. These other means include job analysis databases, which include information on the importance of vision to job tasks or skills, and measures of health-related quality of life, which take a person-centered approach to assessing visual function testing of infants and children, which differs in important ways from standard adult tests.

Cerebral visual disorders have far-reaching consequences for child development. These have profound adverse effects on children’s education and success in school and also in later life, but, unfortunately, cerebral visual disorders often remain undiagnosed and untreated in the pediatric population. This book provides a state-of-the-art account of what is known about the development and disorders of visual perception in children. It covers the development and disorders of visual perception in children, their assessment, early intervention and management in an interdisciplinary context, both from a scientific as well as clinical perspective. Case studies illustrate the recommended assessment and rehabilitation procedures; synopses, boxes and check-lists complement the presentation of our recommendations for clinical practice.

"This is a marvelous book, which provides comprehensive coverage of the field. I predict it will be the 'Gold Standard' text for this field for the foreseeable future." (Ocular Surgery News) This thoroughly revised New Edition is a uniquely comprehensive reference on pediatric ophthalmic conditions and strabismus. Leading international experts guide the reader from epidemiological conditions and developmental aspects through diagnostic and investigative guidelines, and from general principles of management to a detailed consideration of specific disease states. They present clinical conditions systematically- providing a 2-5-page analysis, guidelines as to the probable cause(s), and full references for further study. The BONUS CD-ROM allows users to incorporate all of the images from the text into their presentations! Is a unique one-stop source of information on all pediatric ophthalmic conditions. Includes a unique section on practical problems of actual clinical cases. Offers balanced views of etiology, diagnosis, and management. Provides over 850 high-quality illustrations (over 1,650 in full color) throughout the text. Emphasizes a holistic approach to patient management that considers the family and aids in compliance. Provides new chapters and an entirely new section on amblyopia and strabismus. Features the state-of-the-art in research and procedure with thorough updating throughout. Incorporates an all-new design and layout, and specially commissioned line artworks for greater consistency and easier access to information. Includes a CD-ROM which contains references from the book that are linked directly to PubMed, and nearly all of the book's images, easily downloadable for use in electronic presentations.

Management of visual impairment in childhood requires input from such a wide range of medical and nonmedical disciplines that the delivery of coordinated and appropriate care presents serious problems. This book is a practical guide to the day-to-day management of children with this difficult problem. Written in accessible language with a minimum of jargon, it is intended for both a medical and nonmedical audience: pediatricians, ophthalmologists, optometrists, educators, and social workers. The authors cover a wide range of topics, including the epidemiology of childhood blindness, prevention, visual assessment in early life, the ophthalmic and neurological causes of visual impairment, the effects of impairment on development, behavior, and the family, community and ophthalmic management, management of the multiply-impaired child, access to the educational curriculum, and the challenge of technology.

Foundations of Low Vision: Clinical and Functional Perspectives, the ground-breaking text that highlighted the importance of focusing on the functional as well as the clinical implications of low vision, has been completely updated and expanded in this second edition. The revised edition goes even further in its presentation of how best to assess and support both children and adults with low vision and plan programs and services that optimize their functional vision and ability to lead productive and satisfying lives, based on individuals' actual abilities. Part 1, Personal and Professional Perspectives, provides the foundations of this approach, with chapters focused on the anatomy of the eye, medical causes of visual impairment, optics and low vision devices, and clinical low vision services, as well as psychological and social implications of low vision and the history of the field. Part 2 focuses on children and youths, providing detailed treatment of functional vision assessment, instruction, use of low vision devices, orientation and mobility, and assistive technology. Part 3 presents rehabilitation and employment issues for working-age adults and special considerations for older adults.

Pathologic Myopia is a major cause of severe vision loss worldwide. The mechanisms for vision loss include cataract, glaucoma, retinal detachment, and above all, myopic maculopathy within the posterior staphyloma. The first edition of Pathologic Myopia is one of the only current books to specifically address this disease and discusses recent developments in imaging technologies and various approaches to treatments, such as laser photocoagulation, photodynamic therapy, pharmaco-therapeutic injections in the vitreous, and surgery. This new edition is a timely update to the standard reference in the field, with new chapters on advanced refractive error correction, genetics, developing a classification system, and special surgical approaches for pathologic myopia. Complete with even more high-quality color images and informative tables, this book is written and edited by leaders in the field and is geared towards ophthalmologists, including residents and fellows in training, glaucoma and cataract specialists, and vitreoretinal macula experts.

Based on careful analysis of burden of disease and the costs ofinterventions, this second edition of 'Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition' highlights achievable priorities; measures progresstoward providing efficient, equitable care; promotes cost-effectiveinterventions to targeted populations; and encourages integrated effortsto optimize health. Nearly 500 experts - scientists, epidemiologists, health economists,academicians, and public health practitioners - from around the worldcontributed to the data sources and methodologies, and identifiedchallenges and priorities, resulting in this integrated, comprehensivereference volume on the state of health in developing countries.

This book introduces the reader to the emerging field of quality of life assessment and provides a comprehensive overview of the conceptual and methodological issues concerning quality of life in child and adolescent illness.

Prepared by a WHO/UNICEF/IVACG Task Force