InfantSEE® pilot project offers findings on public awareness, demographic at-risk stats
February 18, 2010
InfantSEE
In the fall of 2008, the AOA received a federal appropriation in the amount of $430,348 to provide increased awareness of the InfantSEE® program. Through the pilot project, administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), findings revealed a growing need for early vision examinations in infants. The pilot project was designed to test how localized advertising, media outreach and public relations efforts affected the numbers of infants receiving assessments.
Prior to this pilot project, InfantSEE® had not localized its public awareness efforts.
The pilot project design translated into “InfantSEE® Weeks” conducted in eight locations across the country including: Madison, Wis., Bismarck, N.D., Des Moines, Iowa, Chicago, the state of West Virginia, Seattle, St. Louis, and the state of Louisiana. These sites represented urban, suburban and rural locations by which to test various outreach methods’ effectiveness.
The states of West Virginia and Louisiana also tested the use of a mobile clinic and toured from town to town throughout each state.
The InfantSEE® Week model proved successful, particularly in the locations where the mobile clinic was used. On average, those locations had a 2,500 percent increase in the number of assessments compared to the same month in the previous year.
On average, at locations where the mobile clinic was not used, there was a more than 500 percent increase in number of assessments conducted per month compared to the same month in the previous year as self-reported by optometrists participating in the InfantSEE® Week pilot project.
During the pilot project, 1,051 infants received a no-cost eye assessment. Data indicated one in six infants exhibited a cause for concern (requiring follow up or a referral to a specialist) — compared to one in nine in 2007 and one in 14 in 2006.
The pilot project data identified two groups at greatest risk for abnormal visual status: premature and minority infants.
The pilot project also provided the first glimpse into how socioeconomic factors influence infant visual health. The data indicated infants from lower household incomes (below $25,000 annually) displayed higher rates of concern in three distinct health categories: ocular motility, visual acuity and binocularity.
Word of mouth and doctor in-office promotion coupled with local outreach efforts proved to be most successful. In response to these findings, a poster was developed for use by participating ODs. To request a copy, send an e-mail to infantsee@aoa.org.
