PREPARED BY:Larry Ryan & Ciara McCarthyJ.5299

Healthy EyesA Nationally Survey

Prepared for

May 2014

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

B A C K G R O U N DO B J E C T I V E S &

P R O C E D U R EH I G H L I G H T S

F I N D I N G SS U M M A R Y

3

• This research was conducted for The Federation of Opticians (FODO) in May 2014 to explore perceptions of the importance of eye tests and establish what proportion of the Irish population has had a test lately.

• Research was undertaken by Behaviour & Attitudes using a nationally representative Barometer (Omnibus) survey. The fieldwork was completed between the 1st – 14th of May 2014.

• Each B&A Barometer is based on a nationally representative quota sample of 1,008 adults (aged 16 years and over) with a fresh sample used per fortnightly survey. – All interviewing is carried out face-to-face

in the respondents’ homes, and the data is recorded on computer by the interviewer.

– The interview is syndicated (i.e. multi-topic) although each section is confidential to its commissioning client.

– Interviewing is conducted across 63 separate sampling locations per survey with these points chosen randomly within a population-representative regional grid.

– Respondents are selected on the basis of quota controls relating to gender, age and social class within region – to ensure that the resultant sample is a microcosm of the national adult population. Quota controls are based on the most recent Census statistics for the national population.

Background, Objectives & Research Procedure

4

Highlights

81

29

21

50

Prioritise eye health over ‘lifestyle’

procedures

Eye test less often

Never had one

Eye test every 2 years

48% have ‘bad

eyesight’24% with a

smartphone or tablet struggle

with eye strain

5

Findings

6

An eye test

Vitamins

Spa Treatment

Celebrity Fitness DVD

Home Teeth Whitening Kit

Diet Pills

None of these

81

8

3

1

1

*

5

Chart Title

Importance of Eye TestsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

%

When asked to personally prioritise a series of health ‘treatments’, most place much greater focus on eye tests.

Q.1 Firstly assuming each of these items cost the same … which ONE, of the following, do you consider most important?

*=Less than 0.5%

7

Eye Test Prioritisation X DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

81 83 80

6274

85 90 9281 80

8980 84

7690

8 7 9

19

127

3 29 8

310 5

11

53 0 6

54

2 2 2 4 3 0 2 43

21 12

42 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 1

211 1

12

2 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 200 0

01

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 005 7 2 8 5 5 4 3 3 6 8 5 4 6 2

All Adults

Gender Age Social Class Area Eye Health

Male Female   U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+   ABC1 C2DE F   Urban RuralNo

impair-ment

Any Impair-ment

% % % % % % % % % % % % % % %

An eye test

VitaminsSpa Treatment

Home Teeth Whitening KitCelebrity Fitness DVD

Diet PillsNone of these

Vitamins and spa treatments may offer more allure for some younger adults, but with the onset of age there is much greater preference of eye tests.

Q.1 Firstly assuming each of these items cost the same … which ONE, of the following, do you consider most important?

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Prioritisation of Eye Test X Level of VisionBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

All Adults

Level of Vision

Think I have 20/20 vision but have not had eye test

in last 2 years

Eye test in last 2 years confirmed have 20/20

vision

Wear glasses/ lenses for

some tasks but

prescription is over 2 years

old

Wear glasses/lenses constantly but prescription is over 2 years

old

Wear glasses/lenses

for some tasks and

prescription is up-to-date

Wear glasses/lenses

constantly and

prescription is up-to-date

Partially sighted

Registered blind Don’t know

Base: 1008 277 162 141 65 192 77 11* 2* 81

% % % % % % % % % %

An eye test 81 74 79 89 85 92 91 93 50 63

Vitamins 8 11 11 4 5 3 7 7 50 12Spa Treatment 3 4 2 2 5 2 - - - 7Home Teeth Whitening Kit

1 1 2 1 2 1 - - - 3

Celebrity Fitness DVD 1 2 1 2 - - - - - 1

Diet Pills * - 1 1 - - - - - -None of these 5 7 4 2 3 2 1 - - 15

Q.1 Assuming each of these items cost the same, which one would you consider most important?

The differences are slight although current glasses wearers place slightly greater focus on eye tests.

*NB: Small base size

9

Vitamins

Spa Treatment

Home Teeth Whitening Kit

An eye test

Celebrity Fitness DVD

Diet Pills

None of these

29

16

10

7

5

2

39

Chart Title

Interest in Other Health ProceduresBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

%

Vitamins tend to come second after eye tests, but as many as 88% of all adults (7 out of 8) would place at least some value on an eye test.

Q.1a And which of the others would you be interested in having at all?

First choice

8%

3%

1%

81%

1%

*%

5%

Any Choice – First of Other

37%

19%

11%

88%

6%

2%

39%

10

Second Choice* X DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

29 26 3321

31 31 30 31 31 28 33 2635

166

26

2117 19 12 10 20

13 11 1616

10

9

11

1411 11

6 710

10 7 9117

5

8

10 10 6

3 5

77

27

55

4

58 5 7

2 1

45

64

62

1

32 2 3

3 1

32

12

3

3953

2532 32 35

49 4734

41 49 4234

All Adults

Gender Age Social Class AreaMale Female   U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+   ABC1 C2DE F   Urban Rural

% % % % % % % % % % % % %

Vitamins

Spa Treatment

Home Teeth Whitening Kit

An eye testCelebrity Fitness DVD

Diet Pills

None of these

Interesting contrasts evident when examining differences by age: spa treatment and home teeth whitening kits reduce in importance with age whereas vitamins marginally

grow in importance with age. Men and older adults more likely to feel that they wouldn’t value any of these.

Q.1a And which of the others would you be interested in having at all?

*NB: 81% had chose an eye test first

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Eye Tests in Context (First and Other Choices Combined)Base: All Adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

All Adults Gender Age Social Class Area

Male Female -24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE F Urban Rural

Base: 1008 488 520 163 203 268 229 145 440 497 71 642 366

% % % % % % % % % % % % %

An eye test 88 88 88 72 84 91 93 97 88 88 91 87 89

Vitamins 37 33 42 40 43 38 32 33 39 36 36 36 40

Spa Treatment 19 6 31 26 21 21 15 12 24 16 11 18 21Home Teeth Whitening Kit 11 10 13 18 13 12 7 7 11 12 7 11 12

Diet Pills 2 1 3 3 2 3 3 2 3 2 1 2 3Celebrity Fitness DVD 6 5 6 10 7 8 2 1 5 6 6 5 7

None of these 4 6 1 7 5 3 3 1 2 4 8 4 3

Q.1Q.1a

Assuming each of these items cost the same, which one would you consider most important?And which of the others would you be interested in having at all?

Younger adults express more superficial and cosmetic needs: teeth whitening and spa trips are upweighted younger whereas older adults place more focus on eye tests. Women are 5 times more likely to nominate a spa treatment than men.

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Eye Test Frequency X DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

16 15 17 13 14 1219

2615 18

716 16

8

26

3429

38

16 2033

47

51

37 3039

34 33

18

52

2222

22

2222

24

2214

2319

29 20 24

27

18

710

5

107

11

35

7

7

98 6

11

321 24 19

39 3620

9 417

2615

22 2036

1

All Adults

Gender Age Social Class Area Eye Health

Male Female   U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+   ABC1 C2DE F   Urban RuralNo

Impair-ment

Any Impair-ment

% (000s) % % % % % % % % % % % % % %

Once a year or more

At least every 2 years

At least every 5 years

Once every ten years

I never go for an eye test

Half the population say that they have had an eye test in the past 2 years. By 50 almost 2 in 3 are claiming to have a test every 2nd year. This is as high as 4 in 5 for those with bad eyesight but just a quarter among those with good eyesight.

Q.2 Which of these best describes how often you go for an eye test

(572,000)

(1,192,000)

(766,000)

(261,000)

(761,000)

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Eye Test Frequency X Level of VisionBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

All Adults Level of Vision

Think I have 20/20 vision but have not had eye test

in last 2 years

Eye test in last 2 years confirmed have 20/20

vision

Wear glasses/ lenses for

some tasks but

prescription is over 2 years old

Wear glasses/lenses constantly

but prescription

is over 2 years old

Wear glasses/lense

s for some tasks and

prescription is up-to-date

Wear glasses/lenses constantly

and prescription is up-to-date

Partially sighted

Registered blind Don’t know

Base: 1008 277 162 141 65 192 77 11* 2* 81

% % % % % % % % % %

Once a year or more 16 - 22 16 16 35 29 29 - 4

At least every 2 years 34 8 37 41 53 58 62 45 - 9

At least every 5 years 22 29 24 34 26 6 8 16 - 15

Once in every ten years 7 14 6 7 1 1 2 10 50 10

I never go for an eye test 21 49 11 2 4 - - - 50 61

Q.2 Which of these best describes how often you go for an eye test

There is a direct relationship between frequency of eye tests and quality of vision.

*NB: Small base size

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Eye cancer

Diabetes

High blood pressure

Brain tumours

High Cholesterol

Depression

Pregnancy

None of these

Don’t know

61

43

27

23

12

3

1

6

20

Chart Title

What can eye tests detect?Base: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

%

Almost 2 in 3 (61%) adults imagine that eye cancer could be detected during a simple eye test. However, knowledge that other conditions such as diabetes

are detectable is much lower.

Q.3 Which of the following, if any, do you think can be detected during an eye test? Please code all that apply

Eye Health

Any Impairment

No Impairment

% %

56 71

35 53

24 33

17 30

9 16

4 2

2 1

8 3

25 11

15

Perspective of Eye Tests x DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

All Adults Gender Age Social Class Area

Male Female -24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE F Urban Rural

Base: 1008 488 520 163 203 268 229 145 440 497 71 642 366

% % % % % % % % % % % % %

Eye cancer 61 57 64 48 54 65 68 65 71 53 65 57 66

Diabetes 43 40 46 24 32 46 51 59 46 39 51 39 49High blood pressure 27 23 31 14 20 30 34 35 31 24 27 25 30

Brain tumours 23 17 28 18 16 28 26 22 28 18 22 21 25High Cholesterol 12 10 14 6 9 15 12 17 15 10 12 9 16

Depression 3 3 2 3 5 1 3 3 3 3 1 3 2

Pregnancy 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 0 1 1 2

None of these 6 6 5 9 10 3 5 2 3 7 7 6 4

Don’t know 20 23 17 33 25 18 12 13 14 24 20 21 18

Q.3 Which of the following, if any, do you think can be detected during an eye test? Please code all that apply

That an eye test might show up anything ‘else’ is a relatively alien notion to those that are younger in age.

16

Current Level of VisionBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

28 31 26

45 45

31

11 7

25 3124 29 28

16 1714

2416

19

13

5

20 1313

16 16

1415

13

67

13

21

25

13 1518

15 13

66

7

23

7

714

7 65

5 9

18 1423

89 16

30 30

19 18 2018 18

7 6 8 3 45 12 14 7 7 11 8 6

1 2 10 1

03 2

0 2 0 1 20 0 00 0

01 0

0 0 0 0 08 9 8 12 13 9

3 3 8 9 8 8 9

All Adults

Gender Age Social Class AreaMale Female   U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+   ABC1 C2DE F   Urban Rural

% % % % % % % % % % % % %

I think I have 20/20 vision but I have not had an eye test in the last 2 years

An eye test in the last 2 years has confirmed that I have 20/20 vision

I wear glasses/contact lenses for some tasks but the prescription is over 2

years oldI wear glasses/contact lenses

constantly but the prescription is over 2 years old

I wear glasses/contact lenses for some tasks and I know the prescription is

up-to-date

I wear glasses/contact lenses constantly and I know the prescription

is up-to-dateI am partially sightedI am registered blind

Don’t know

Q.4 Which one of these, if any, best describes your level of vision?

Half (48%) currently experience some sort of visual impairment. Younger adults are the least likely to have had an eye test within the past 2 years.

17

Smartphone Eye Strain X DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

58 60 5669 70

63

42 39

6454 49

60 5470

42

10 8 11

10 13

10

123

11

910

1010

7

14

4 3 5

7 2

5

3

3

3

50

43

3

5

4 3 5

7 45

2

0

5

3

2

43

4

4

25 27 238 11 17

4055

1729

39

2130

15

35

All Adults

Gender Age Social Class Area Eye Health

Male Female   U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+   ABC1 C2DE F   Urban RuralNo

Impair-ment

Any Impair-ment

% % % % % % % % % % % % % % %

No, I never experience eye strain

Yes, experience after using my Smartphone/

tablet for 1 hourYes, experience after

using my Smartphone/ Tablet for 2 hours

Yes, experience after using my Smartphone/

Tablet for 3 hours

Don’t have a smartphone or tablet

Almost 1 in 5 (18% or 24% of those with a smartphone or tablet) have previously experienced eye strain when using their smartphone/tablet. Those

most likely to mention it are younger and female. It is quite possible that many who are visually impaired have avoided getting a smartphone or tablet.

Q.5 Do you experience eye strain when using your Smartphone/Tablet?

18%

18

Smartphone Eye Strain X Level of VisionBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

All Adults Level of Vision

Eye test in last 2 years

confirmed have 20/20

vision

Think I have 20/20 vision but have not

had eye test in last 2 years

Wear glasses/ lenses for

some tasks but prescription is over 2 years

old

Wear glasses/lenses constantly but prescription is over 2 years

old

Wear glasses/lenses for some tasks

and prescription is

up-to-date

Wear glasses/lenses constantly and prescription is

up-to-date

Partially sighted

Registered blind

Don’t know

Base: 1008 162 277 141 65 192 77 11* 2* 81

% % % % % % % % % %

No, I never experience eye strain 58 73 68 39 40 45 45 11 100 82

Yes, I experience eye strain after using my Smartphone/tablet for 1 hour

10 9 6 15 14 13 12 20 - 3

Yes, I experience eye strain after using my Smartphone/Tablet for 2 hours

4 1 4 6 3 5 2 9 - 1

Yes, I experience eye strain after using my Smartphone/Tablet for 3 hours

4 4 5 4 4 4 2 9 - -

Don’t have a smartphone or tablet 25 13 16 35 39 32 38 51 - 14

Q.5 Do you experience eye strain when using your Smartphone/Tablet?

There is some evidence of a relationship between eye strain when tablets are used and having an out of date prescription.

*NB: Small base size

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Summary of Findings● Almost 9 in 10 (88%) adults agree that an eye test is more important than taking vitamins

(8%), getting a spa treatment (3%), purchasing a celebrity fitness DVD (1%), or a home teeth whitening kit (1%).

● Half of all adults indicate that they go for an eye test at least every two years. 1 in 5 have never had an eye test. These are mainly younger adults, from more working class backgrounds and people with ostensibly good eyes.

● 36% with good vision have never had an eye test.● Almost 2 in 3 imagine that eye cancer could be detectable from a simple eye test. ● 48% of adults have a visual impairment of some sort, with the majority of these (25%)

agreeing that they wear glasses/contact lenses and they know their prescription is up-to-date.

● 58% have never experienced eye strain when using a smartphone or tablet. Those who experience eye strain are mainly female and younger: a quarter of smartphone or tablet users experience some degree of eye strain.

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Analysis of SampleBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000

49

15

4029

51

21

52

26

29

7

2720

1815

Gender%

Age%

Social Class

%Region

%

Male

Female

U24

25-34

35-49

50-64

65+

ABC1

C2DE

F

Dublin

Leinster

Munster

Conn/Uls

The structure of the sample reflects the quotas which are set for it.

21