Objective 28-4
Impairment in Children and Adolescents (age 17 and under)
This objective was the focus of Healthy Vision Month 2003.
Reduce blindness and visual impairment in children and adolescents aged 17 years and under.
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a common condition in which images of distant objects are focused in front of, instead of on, the retina. Myopia occurs in approximately 25 percent of the U.S. population.9 In children, myopia is found in 2 percent of those entering first grade and 15 percent of those entering high school.
Data Source
Target: 18 per 1,000 children and adolescents aged 17 years and under.
Baseline: 24 per 1,000 children and adolescents aged 17 years and under were blind or visually impaired in 1997.
Target setting method: Better than the best.
Data source: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
Operational definition: This is a valuable tool that allows individuals to set measurable Healthy Vision objectives for their own communities.
Citation: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Tracking Healthy People 2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000.
| Children and Adolescents Aged 17 Years and Under, 1997 |
Blindness and Visual Impairment |
|---|---|
| Rate per 1,000 | |
| 24 | |
| Race and ethnicity | |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | DSU |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | DSU |
| Asian | DSU |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | DSU |
| Black or African American | 26 |
| White | 24 |
| 2 or more races | DNC |
| American Indian or Alaska Native; White | DNC |
| Black or African American; White | DNC |
| Hispanic or Latino | 21 |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 25 |
| Black or African American | 27 |
| White | 25 |
| Gender | |
| Female | 24 |
| Male | 25 |
| Family income level | |
| Poor | 34 |
| Near poor | 28 |
| Middle/high income | 20 |
| Disability status | |
| Persons with disabilities | 92 |
| Persons without disabilities | 19 |
Legend:
DNA = Data have not been analyzed.
DNC = Data for specific population are not collected.
DSU = Data do not meet the criteria for statistical reliability, data quality, or confidentiality.
| Operational definition for objective: 28-4 Reduce blindness and visual impairment in children and adolescents aged 17 years and under. |
|
|---|---|
| National Data Source | National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), CDC, NCHS. |
| State Data Source | Not identified. |
| Healthy People 2000 Objective | Not applicable. |
| Measure | Rate per 1,000 population. |
| Baseline | 25 (1997). |
| Numerator | Number of children and adolescents aged 17 years and under who have trouble seeing, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. |
| Denominator | Number of children and adolescents aged 17 years and under. |
| Population Targeted | U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population. |
| Questions Used To Obtain the National Data | From the 1997 National Health Interview Survey: > Does _______ have any trouble seeing? (If age 2+ years:) even when wearing glasses or focus area contact lenses? |
| Expected Periodicity | Annual. |
| Comments | See Part C for a description of NHIS and Appendix A for focus area contact information. All referenced "Parts" and "Appendices" can be found in Tracking Healthy People 2010. |
