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The roadmap to close the gap for vision
Author(s) -
Taylor Hugh R,
Boudville Andrea I,
Anjou Mitchell D
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/mja12.10544
Subject(s) - optometry , medicine
nd th pr treatm I igenous Australians have six times more blindness an the national average, and 94% of the vision loss is eventable with eye examinations and timely access to ent.1 There remain gaps in service delivery, and a shortage of specialist services in remote areas and poor utilisation of eye services in urban areas contribute to the disparity.2 Moreover, 35% of Indigenous adults have never had an eye examination. Only 20% of Indigenous people with diabetes have the requisite annual eye examination.3 Although much basic eye care is provided within primary health care, referrals to specialist services to treat complex eye issues and links to hospitals for cataract surgery need to be developed. Between 2007 and 2012, we undertook the National Indigenous Eye Health Survey,1 as well as qualitative investigations to identify barriers and solutions to the provision and utilisation of eye services for Indigenous Australians.2,4 The objective was to develop a set of policy recommendations with the goal of closing the gap for vision.4 The full report of our findings and recommendations, The roadmap to close the gap for vision, is available online.5 The lessons learnt are likely to be highly relevant for all services providing visiting specialist care to Indigenous Australians.