Original articleCosts of Interventions for Visual Impairment
Section snippets
Population-Based Data on Eye Disease
The prevalence of vision impairment in Australia has been previously reported.9 In 2004, a total of 480,000 Australians were estimated to have vision impairment (presenting visual acuity <6/12), including 50,000 who were blind (presenting visual acuity <6/60). Five conditions—age-related macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and undercorrected refractive error—caused 90% of vision impairment and 78% of blindness. Among those older than 40, refractive error accounts for
Results
We have shown that the total cost of vision disorders in Australia in 2004 was estimated to be AU$9.85 billion.7 The total cost of the eye care intervention package we have developed for 2005 and 2006 was AU$188.8 million (Table 2).
The overall package would be highly effective in its first year, costing AU$5591 per quality-adjusted life-year, but would be cost saving thereafter (Table 3). When we include dollars saved from indirect costs in the first year, the initial expenditure of AU$188.8
Discussion
Blindness and vision loss have a huge and broad-ranging impact in our society. Although much vision loss occurs in developing countries, Australia and other developed economies also need to take vision loss seriously. Australia has good primary, secondary, and tertiary eye care services, as well as good data on the distribution and impact of eye disease. Australia also has comprehensive health economic data that permits economic modeling.
Epidemiologic data show the tripling of vision loss with
Hugh R. Taylor, AC, MD, has been a Professor and Head of Ophthalmology since 1990, at the University of Melbourne, and Managing Director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia. Trained at Melbourne, he was at Johns Hopkins for 13 years. Dr Taylor has written extensively on epidemiologic and public health aspects of eye disease and is a leader in Vision 2020 and the International Council of Ophthalmology. Dr Taylor was made a Companion in the Order of Australia in 2001.
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2019, Journal of Affective DisordersCitation Excerpt :One possibility then is that those with higher PA might be more likely to use inappropriate optical correction thus resulting in higher rates of VI as assessed via presenting correction. Correctible VI due to use of the wrong optical correction is common in older adults (Taylor et al., 2007). In the present study mild VI was, however, associated with a worsening of depression symptoms over time for both PA and DA.
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2015, Journal of Epidemiology and Global HealthCitation Excerpt :Besides humanitarian grounds for conducting regular eye exams to prevent avoidable suffering, cursory reports suggest an economic benefit. Taylor et al. modeled the economic impact on Australia of such an intervention package and found that it would give a 4.8-fold return on investment [28]. Although this study pertains to a developed rather than developing country, it is maintained that prevention and early detection of visual maladies in developing countries may offer similar economic advantages by increasing worker productivity.
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Hugh R. Taylor, AC, MD, has been a Professor and Head of Ophthalmology since 1990, at the University of Melbourne, and Managing Director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia. Trained at Melbourne, he was at Johns Hopkins for 13 years. Dr Taylor has written extensively on epidemiologic and public health aspects of eye disease and is a leader in Vision 2020 and the International Council of Ophthalmology. Dr Taylor was made a Companion in the Order of Australia in 2001.