News

Call for Applications Issued for Initiative to Improve Children's Vision

March 14, 2016

Girl ScreeningThe National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) and NICHQ are issuing a call for applications to public health professionals, early educators, community vision programs, eye care professionals, primary healthcare provider groups and family advocates to join the quality improvement collaborative, Improving Children's Vision: Systems, Stakeholders & Support.

The mission of this collaborative is to achieve, in 18 months, improvements in the systems supporting children's vision and eye health in a minimum of five carefully selected states. The result will be comprehensive and coordinated approaches to children's vision and eye health and a reduced prevalence of vision problems in hard-to-reach populations of young children. The project aim is to increase by 20 percent over 2011-2012 levels (according to the National Survey of Children's Health measure) the proportion of children aged 5 years and younger who receive vision screening and diagnosis in five states by the year 2018. The goals that will lead to the project aim include:

  • Strengthening statewide partnerships and coordination among key stakeholders in children's vision and eye health
  • Increasing access to and utilization of vision health services in hard-to-reach communities
  • Increasing early detection and treatment of vision problems
  • Establishing state-level surveillance
  • Implementing vision health system measures of accountability

All teams interested in participating must submit applications via an online portal by April 25, 2016 at 5 p.m. ET. Applications will be selected and parties notified by May 23, 2016.

An online webinar, "Office Hours," will be conducted by the NCCVEH and NICHQ on March 29, 2016 to provide additional information including an overview of the project, a walk-through of the online application process, and answer potential questions. Interested participants can register for free.

"Back in 1908, Prevent Blindness was founded to help protect the gift of sight in newborns," said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. "We continue that legacy today with programs like the Improving Children's Vision: Systems, Stakeholders & Support initiative. By working with expert teams at the state level, we can continue to share ideas, and discover and implement the best strategies to keep our kids on the path to a lifetime of healthy vision."

"Early vision screening and diagnosis is essential to a child's long-term development, so it is crucial that state-level vision programs, and the systems that support the programs, are optimized for success," said NICHQ Director of Programs, Meghan Johnson, MSc.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Josh Licursi
Josh Licursi
NICHQ Communications Manager
[email protected] or 617-391-2757