For a recap of the AOA’s Emergency Children’s Vision Summit after March 24, 2021, click here.
March 9, 2021
ST. LOUIS — The American Optometric Association (AOA) is holding an emergency summit on Children’s Eye Health on March 24th. The meeting, which will consist of two panels, will address the steady increase of myopia cases worldwide, the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected children’s eyesight, and what parents and ECPs can do to improve this situation moving forward.
“Children’s eye health and vision are a significant public health concern,” said AOA President William T. Reynolds, OD. “With rates of myopia on the rise, accelerated by the pandemic, doctors of optometry are uniquely positioned to take the lead in developing action steps to respond to this burgeoning crisis.”
Remote schooling, which has required children to spend more time in front of screens, and increased time indoors in the last year are two major factors that can poorly affect eyesight and increase myopia progression. With this summit, the AOA hopes to highlight ECPs’ and parents’ concerns about how children’s lifestyles are problematic for their eye health.
Attendees will receive educational resources that can be utilized outside of the summit. The AOA encourages optometrists, paraoptometrists, and optometry students to attend on March 24th at 8:30PM EST.
“The Children’s Vision Summit provides a timely view of the landscape to inform and encourage advocacy on how to best move children’s health further forward,” said Lori L. Grover, OD, PhD, a member of the Evidence-Based Optometry Guideline Development Group. “The summit gives all doctors of optometry an easily accessible opportunity to ask questions, get updated information, and apply it across all care delivery systems.”
To learn more and register for the AOA’s Children’s Vision Summit, click here.
