Prevention of Avoidable Sight Loss

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Prevention of Avoidable Sight Loss

• Challenges and Opportunities in Scotland - Today
  and Beyond
• Gozie Joe Adigwe
• Preventions Officer
• RNIB Scotland

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What is the case for prevention?

• 50 of sight loss - avoidable, up to 150,000
• Aging population - across UK, more so in Scotland
• Increasing ethnic diversity
• Stubborn persistence of health inequalities -
  deprivation and accessing services are key
• Cost - personal, social, economic

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• Key Statistics - Population
• Over the last 100 years the proportion of
  Scotland's population aged under 15 has fallen
  from 32 to 16 while the proportion aged 65 and
  over has increased from 5 to 17.
• www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/en/censusresults/bullet
  in.html.
• Between 2010 and 2035 those aged 75 and over are
  projected to increase by 82. The estimated 820
  centenarians in Scotland in 2010 is projected to
  increase to 7,600 by 2035.
• The proportion of Scotlands population which is
  of pensionable age is projected to increase by
  2.9 percentage points between 2010 and 2035,
  compared with a 1.7 percentage point rise for the
  UK.
• National Records of Scotland. Written submission.
  

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Key Statistics - EthnicityBlack minority ethnic
groups, Census Data, Scotland
2001 2.1 101,700
2011 4 211,000

• Numbers by Health Board
• Glasgow - 88,464
• Orkney - 156
• Lanark - 11,500
• Lothian - 46, 899
• Western Isles - 245

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• Key Statistics - Deprivation
• 41 of Glasgow datazones - bottom 15 of most
  deprived areas in Scotland
• On income-based measures, Pakistanis/Bangladeshis
  and Black African households in Scotland have
  higher rates of poverty than other ethnic groups
• ' ..Although the policy encouraged more people to
  have eye tests, or have more regular eye tests,
  there are notable differences across
  socio-economic groups... As a result inequality
  in eye care utilisation has actually risen...'
• Utilisation of eye-care services The effect of
  Scotlands free eye examination policy, D Hickey

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• Key Statistics (cont.)

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Diabetes

• Diabetes
• There are now more people living with diabetes in
  Scotland than coronary heart disease - circ
  248,000.
• There is an increased prevalence of
  non-insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes in people
  of South Asian origin - 16.5 compared with 4.7
  in the White population.
• 19.3 per cent of people initially diagnosed with
  Type 2 diabetes already had signs of retinopathy.
• Prevention?
• Promote understanding risk factors and links
  between diabetes and sight loss.
• Targeted, long term approach with a focus on
  ethnicity, deprivation and undiagnosed disease.
• Truly collaborative approach to enhance the reach
  of eye health messages.
• Service commissioners study local demographics to
  target prevention effectively.

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Opportunities

• Increase eye health as a public health priority -
  Primary prevention
• Targeted health campaigns - innovate and
  collaborate
• Holistic approach to 'at risk' groups including
  referrals to income maximisation services,
  housing, vision and emotional support - Secondary
  prevention
• Finding different ways to get data and analyse it
  - Electronic referral between optometry and
  ophthalmology
• Consider further development of community
  optometry role -

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