Ideas for Research
Our library of selected peer-reviewed research provides a broad range of information on the social and economic impact of poor vision.
Many areas need greater study. In fact, for each major patient population, numerous issues call for further exploration and analysis. This research will fill existing gaps in knowledge about the consequences of visual impairment and provide a data-driven basis for advocacy in favor of new interventions.
Certain critical information is lacking for each major patient population:
For Children
- Educational costs: school years repeated, special education programs, school dropout rates
- Judicial costs: social welfare, juvenile delinquency, criminality and incarceration
- Lifetime costs of poor literacy, reduced employment opportunities and lower earning potential
- Effect of poor vision on girls' education, now recognized as a crucial component of international development programming
For Workers
- Cost of productivity losses due to absenteeism, presenteeism and preventable eye problems
- Cost of productivity losses due to increased accident rates and higher costs of non-quality work
- Cost of lower labor force participation and lower wages
- Hazard prevention for workers
- Ergonomy and vision: productivity losses due to eye fatigue
For Elderly People
- Cost of social isolation and community welfare services
- Costs of injuries due to falls, such as hip fractures
- Costs of declining cognitive health, depression and dementia
For Drivers
- Cost of preventable accidents through lack of awareness of vision standards
- Cost of driving licenses revoked due to impaired vision
- Indirect cost to car manufacturers when motorists give up driving
General
- Equity in care, treatment and support: equal access to services and the need for scale-up to reach those considered unreachable
If you know of existing research or data on these topics, you can make your knowledge available to the community by submitting a resource for our library.
