Vision 2020: A Quick Look at Eye Health Among Adults 50+ · 2020-03-30 · Vision 2020: A Quick Look at Eye Health Among Adults 50+ Author: Teresa A. Keenan Subject Large majorities

AARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2020 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DOI: AARP RESEARCH

March 2020

https://doi.org/10.26419/res.00375.001

VISION 2020: A QUICK LOOK AT

EYE HEALTH AMONG ADULTS 50+

AARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2020 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVED AARP RESEARCH 2

Table of contents

Executive Summary 3

Detailed Findings 5

Methodology 15

Contact 18


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

AARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2020 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVED AARP RESEARCH

Executive summary

• Large majorities consider vision and ocular health important for themselves, for their friends and family, for adults

ages 50 and older, and for the U.S. population in general. Moreover, nearly all consider vision to be important to their

overall quality of life. Similarly, nine in ten are concerned about eye health conditions they might experience as they

age, while eight in ten fear losing their sight, significantly more than those who fear losing one of their other four

senses, due to sight’s perceived effect on their personal independence.

• Many people are aware that eye exams are important, with about six in ten saying that they have gotten a “regular”

eye exam and about half of them also having had a dilated eye exam. Unfortunately, large majorities of respondents

report looking for general health information or information on eye health only “when necessary” — or not at all — a

practice that can hamper their efforts to maintain optimal eye health.

• While our survey uncovered high levels of awareness and interest in eye health topics, we also found considerable

gaps in knowledge. For example, many respondents were unfamiliar with common conditions such as temporal

arteritis, corneal disease, retinal disorders, or macular degeneration.

4


DETAILED FINDINGS


Large majorities consider vision at least somewhat important to

themselves and to others.

6

Q1: In your opinion, how important of a concern is vision or ocular health to…? N=550

4%

3%

4%

7%

3%

2%

2%

3%

10%

12%

14%

21%

50%

55%

56%

53%

33%

27%

22%

16%

You personally

People age 50 or older

Your close friends and family members

The U.S. population in general

Percent of respondents by importance of vision to...

Not a concern at all Not a very important concern Somewhat important concern Very important concern Extremely important concern


Nearly all consider maintaining their vision at least somewhat important

to their quality of life.

7

Q2: As you get older, how important is maintaining your vision to the quality of your life? N=550

53%

38%

6%

1%1%

Extremelyimportant

Veryimportant

Somewhatimportant

Not veryimportant

Not at allimportant

Percent of respondents by the importance of maintaining vision to their quality of life


Nine in ten are concerned about eye health conditions they may

experience as they age. Eight in ten believe potential vision loss would

have the greatest impact on their independence.

8

Q3: I’d like to ask you a series of statements about ocular (eye) health. For each one, please say to what extent you agree or disagree with it. N=550; Q10: There are five senses—hearing,

vision or sight, touch, taste, and smell. Which one of these five senses — if you lost it — do you think would have the greatest impact on your independence? N=550; Q9: Now, I’m going to read

you a list of potential health challenges. After reading the list to you, I’d like you to tell me which one you fear MOST. N=550

92%strongly or somewhat agree

that they are concerned about

eye health conditions

as they age

83%

8%

3%

3%

1%

Sight or vision

Hearing

Taste

Touch

Smell

Percent of respondents by loss of which sense would have the greatest impact on independence


Given their concerns, it isn’t surprising that older adults are regularly

seeking care for their eyes.

9

Q4: When was the last time you had an eye exam? N=550

Q6: When was the last time you had a dilated eye exam? N=539, asked of those who have had an eye exam.

Regular eye exam

61%

23%

11%

3%

2%

Dilated eye exam

51%

21%

12%

5%

9%

Within past year

1–2 years ago

3–5 years ago

More than 5 years ago

Never

Percent of respondents by most recent regular eye exam and dilated eye exam


Yet, those who look for health information only when necessary (or not at

all) may not be doing all they can to protect their eye health.

10

Q13: Which of the following statements best describes how often you research/look into issues related to your general health? N=550;

Q14: Which of the following statements best describes how often you research/look into issues related specifically to the health of your eyes? N=550

31%

19%

General health Health of your eyes

Try to stay up-to-date by looking up information on a regular basis

43%

47%


Look for information only when it is necessary

26%

33%


Do not look uphealth information


Difficulty reading up close, blurry vision, and difficulty seeing at night top

the list of vision issues experienced by midlife and older adults.

11

Q8: I’m going to read you a short list of issues that you might be experiencing with your vision (or have experienced in the past). For each one, please tell me whether you have ever

experienced it. N=550

55%

49%

45%

39%

27%

15%

17%

Difficulty reading up close

Blurry vision

Difficulty seeing at night

Red, watery eyes

Flashes of light

Double vision

None of the above


People show a high awareness of — and interest in — eye

health and related topics.

12

Q3: I’d like to ask you a series of statements about ocular (eye) health. For each one, please say to what extent you agree or disagree with it. N=550

87%

86%

85%

81%

79%

76%

4%

5%

6%

9%

8%

6%

7%

7%

7%

9%

11%

14%

You feel confident that you know the right questions to ask a healthcareprofessional about eye health conditions you may experience as you age

You are aware that you may be able to prevent or prolong certain types ofage-related vision loss or blindness if you have a comprehensive

dilated eye exam

You are aware that a wide variety of eye conditions can be identified through adilated eye exam

You are interested in learning more about eye health conditions you mayexperience as you age

You are aware that a wide variety of health conditions that are not necessarilyrelated to your vision can be identified through a dilated eye exam

You clearly understand the difference between an optician, optometrist, andophthalmologist

Percent of respondents by agreement with the following statements

Strongly or somewhat agree Neither Strongly or somewhat disagree


Many are unfamiliar with relatively common eye conditions.

13

Q11: There are a number of health conditions of the eye that may happen to individuals as they age. For each one of these conditions, please tell me how familiar you are with it. N=550

Extremely or very familiar

60%

48%

47%

44%

37%

37%

30%

21%

19%

12%

Somewhat familiar

27%

29%

32%

33%

30%

30%

30%

31%

28%

17%

Not very or not at all familiar

13%

22%

21%

22%

33%

33%

40%

47%

53%

71%

Cataracts

Conjunctivitis

Dry eyes

Glaucoma

Presbyopia

Floaters

Macular degeneration

Retinal disorders

Corneal disease

Temporal arteritis

Percent of respondents by familiarity with common eye conditions


One-third are extremely or very interested in noninvasive tech-related

vision solutions, while another third are somewhat interested.

14

Q15: If there were a non-invasive, tech-related solution (e.g., a device you wear, clothing, apps, etc.) that could relieve or minimize visual difficulties, how interested would you be in learning

more about such a product? N=550

Extremely or very

interested: 35%

Somewhat interested:

37%

Not very or not at all

interested: 26%

Interest in noninvasive tech-related vision solutions


METHODOLOGY


Background, objectives and methodology

In January 2020, AARP Research contracted with AUS-

SSRS to field a phone survey among U.S. adults ages 50

and older to learn more about their views related to vision

and ocular health. In the survey, respondents were asked

how important they consider vision and ocular health to

be for themselves, for their family members and friends,

and for other groups. Additionally, they were asked

whether they have ever had an eye exam or a dilated eye

exam, and if not, why not. Respondents were also asked

about the frequency with which they research or look for

information about issues related to their general health as

well as to the health of their eyes.

Objective: To learn more about midlife and older adults’

views related to vision and ocular health.

Methodology: Phone, nationally representative survey

via SSRS’s telephone omnibus among U.S. adults ages

50 and older.

Sample: Sample of U.S. adults ages 50 and older drawn

from SSRS Telephone Omnibus, N=550.

Interviewing Dates: January 17–19, 2020.

Language: Interviews conducted in English and Spanish.

Weighting: Data were weighted by age, race, sex,

region, education, and marital status to reflect national

population estimates for adults age 50 and older.

Questionnaire length: 4 minutes (median).

Confidence Interval: Total sample: ± 4.8%. The margin

of error among subgroups is higher.

Note: Some percentages may not equal 100% due to

rounding.

16


About AARP

AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to

choose how they live as they age. With nearly 38 million members and offices in every state, the District of Columbia,

Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and advocate for what matters most

to families with a focus on health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in

the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry

the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation's largest circulation

publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and

@AARPadvocates on social media.

AUS Marketing Research Systems, Inc. conducted this survey for AARP using its SSRS telephone omnibus. The author

would like to thank the AUS-SSRS team of Jordan Peugh and Suzanne McLaughlin for their assistance in fielding the

survey. This report was prepared by Teresa A. Keenan, Ph.D., in AARP Research. For more information about the

survey, contact her at [email protected].

Acknowledgements

http://www.aarp.org/

mailto:[email protected]


Teresa A. Keenan, AARP Research

[email protected]

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected]

This research was designed and executed by AARP Research

18



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Vision 2020: A Quick Look at Eye Health Among Adults 50+ · 2020-03-30 · Vision 2020: A Quick Look at Eye Health Among Adults 50+ Author: Teresa A. Keenan Subject Large majorities