Indigenous Eye Health in the Americas: The Burden of Vision Impairment and Ocular Diseases

João Marcello Furtado (), Arthur Gustavo Fernandes, Juan Carlos Silva, Sandra Del Pino and Carolina Hommes
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João Marcello Furtado: Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC 20037, USA
Arthur Gustavo Fernandes: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo 04023-062, Brazil
Juan Carlos Silva: Independent Researcher, Bogota 110111, Colombia
Sandra Del Pino: Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC 20037, USA
Carolina Hommes: Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC 20037, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Review of the burden of vision impairment and blindness and ocular disease occurrence in Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. We systematically reviewed findings of the frequency of vision impairment and blindness and/or frequency of ocular findings in Indigenous groups. The database search yielded 2829 citations, of which 2747 were excluded. We screened the full texts of 82 records for relevance and excluded 16. The remaining 66 articles were examined thoroughly, and 25 presented sufficient data to be included. Another 7 articles derived from references were included, summing a total of 32 studies selected. When considering adults over 40 years old, the highest frequencies of vision impairment and blindness in Indigenous Peoples varied from 11.1% in high-income North America to 28.5% in tropical Latin America, whose rates are considerably higher than those in the general population. Most of the ocular diseases reported were preventable and/or treatable, so blindness prevention programs should focus on accessibility to eye examinations, cataract surgeries, control of infectious diseases, and spectacles distribution. Finally, we recommend actions in six areas of attention towards improving the eye health in Indigenous Peoples: access and integration of eye services with primary care; telemedicine; customized propaedeutics; education on eye health; and quality of data.

Keywords: health services accessibility; Indigenous health service; Indigenous Peoples; ophthalmology; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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