News
DR. MICHAEL NELSON
CAO President
of each increases with age. Vision
loss in seniors is not reflected
in public health agendas and
community programs. By 2024,
Statistics Canada data indicates
seniors will account for 20 per
cent of Canada’s population,
a major contribution to the
emerging crisis in eye health and
vision care.
Q. What is the impact of vision
loss on seniors?
Q. Dr. Nelson, who should create
the comprehensive eye health
and vision care strategy and
what should it include?
A. Since the release of the Federal
Role Paper on Eye Health and
Vision Care in 2017, CAO has
been advocating for a pan-
Canadian Framework for Action
on Eye Health with a focus on
seniors, children and Indigenous
peoples, developed collaboratively
by eye and health care vision
providers, rehabilitation
professionals and vision research
funders, other stakeholders
and governments. The strategy
would be based on population
health strategies defined by the
Public Health Agency of Canada
that would improve the overall
quality of life and productivity of
Canadians.
Q. Why is such a strategy so
important at this time?
A. The four major causes of
vision loss in Canada are age-
related macular degeneration,
glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy
and cataracts, and the occurrence
A. I see this impact almost
every day in my clinic. Seniors
deal with significant visual
demands – driving, phones,
work, travel, sports – and reduced
vision can really affect their
quality of life and the ability to
enjoy these activities. Vision
loss doubles the difficulties of
daily living, advances nursing
home admissions, doubles
social dependence and the
risk of falls, triples the rate of
depression, quadruples the risk
of hip fractures and doubles the
mortality rate.
Q. The CAO says vision loss
represents a large proportion
of the economic burden of
illness in Canada. Why is this a
concern to CAO and why should
it be a concern to Canadians as
well?
costs of any disease category in
Canada – more than diabetes,
cancer, mental disorders,
respiratory diseases, arthritis or
cardiovascular disease. And yet
according to the World Health
Organization (WHO), 80 per
cent of vision loss is avoidable.
CAO believes that nobody in
Canada should be needlessly
visually impaired and that if
comprehensive eye care services
were an integral part of our
primary health care and health
systems development, we could
better help everyone achieve their
full potential.
Q. What role should eye care
professionals be playing to
address the increase in age-
related eye disease in Canada?
A.Eye care professionals
should continue to encourage
their patients to get a regular
comprehensive eye exam, which
is one of the least invasive steps
to protect overall health. CAO
developed frequency guidelines
for eye exams, but an optometrist
will ultimately determine what
works best for their patients
based on their assessment of
overall eye health. OP
A. An analysis of data by Deloitte
Access Economics shows
that vision loss accounts for
approximately eight per cent of
the economic burden of illness
in Canada, and that vision loss
has the highest direct health care
Optical Prism | October 2019 27