ROMA – There are 10.7 million, equal to 21.3% of the population, Italians in a condition of ophthalmic fragility, i.e. those who have both vision defects or pathologies and economic difficulties in accessing eye care services, corrective instruments or ophthalmic drugs.
They are predominantly women. These are mainly women (23.7%) and young people (25.5%). At a geographical level, hardship reaches 15.9% in the North-West, 14.5% in the North-East, while the percentages rise to 24.4% in the Center and 27.9% in the South. People with low incomes are the most exposed to the risk of ophthalmic fragility, but almost 21% of those in this condition have an income exceeding 35,000 euros per year.
The data from the Report. These are the data that emerged from the first Report of the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Italy Foundation created in collaboration with the Census “Italians in conditions of ophthalmic fragility: a snapshot of hidden social hardship” presented at the Temple of Hadrian in Rome, during the second annual meeting of the Foundation “See better, live better, everyone”. The research demonstrates how the condition of ophthalmic fragility is determined by the coexistence and mutual influence of economic difficulties and difficulties relating to vision health, with a worsening of the state of the latter precisely due to the difficulties in covering the expenses for ophthalmology services, glasses or contact lenses.
The different eye diseases. In this regard, it should be underlined that the incidence of eye diseases worsens significantly in frail people: myopia, for example, affects 42.8% of Italians with a percentage that rises to 64% among people in a state of ophthalmic fragility; the same goes for astigmatism present in 28% of Italians and 49.7% of frail people; On the other hand, 18.8% of citizens suffer from presbyopia, while among the frail the figure reaches 23.2%.
Ophthalmic poverty: a hidden hardship. In addition to the vulnerable, in Italy 2.7 million – 5.4% – are in even worse conditions, of ophthalmic poverty, i.e. those who have vision problems but absolutely insufficient economic resources to provide for it. Suffice it to say that 71.4% of these, in the last year, gave up eye exams for economic reasons. This is a condition of hardship that mainly affects women (66.6% of people in conditions of eye poverty), the elderly (15.9%), residents in the South and on the Islands (53.7%) and in large cities, with over 500,000 inhabitants (21.7%). 49% of those living in eye poverty have incomes of less than 15,000 euros per year.
The negative impact on work and daily life. 47.7% of workers with fragile eyes report a decline in their productivity, to the point that 27.7% have been forced to change jobs and 22.7% to stop working. Furthermore, 88.2% of people with ophthalmic fragility experienced a negative impact on daily life: less autonomy (40.9%), with limitations in social relationships (32.1%) and mobility (25, 5%), and compromise of free time (83.9%). 75.3% of people in a fragile condition have difficulty using smartphones, computers and smart TVs. The negative impact is also reflected on psychological well-being, causing frustration (58.8%), irritability (62.6%) and isolation (42.5%).
Unequal access to care. 55.6% of the population with ophthalmic fragility think that their vision has worsened due to the difficulty in accessing healthcare. 83.5% encountered obstacles or had to give up on replacing their glasses, 78.2% postponed or skipped eye exams. To cope with the costs of eye care, 23.9% of people with ophthalmic fragility suffered a drop in their standard of living and 47.6% had to cut other expenses.
The barriers to accessing the health service and the use of private services. 62.8% of people with vision problems turn to private healthcare because they need frequent and timely healthcare. 84.6% of Italians are convinced that those who have money can take care of their eyesight sooner and better. 66.6% think that the lack of attention by the Health Service to eye health is at the origin of this inequality. Prevention and vision health of minors. Vision problems have a negative impact on children’s learning and relationships, especially if they are not identified early.
Vision checks from birth. For this reason, families subject their children to vision checks at birth (3.3%), before the age of three (36.5%), when they enter primary school (49.1%) and subsequently (11, 1%). 81.9% of visits have a preventive purpose. In half of the cases these are autonomous choices of the parents, in the other half of indications from the pediatrician. 63.9% of families choose private structures, 36.1% rely on the public.
The general secretary of Censis. “The report has highlighted the significant quantitative consistency of a social problem, with a health basis, hitherto submerged and little known – underlines Giorgio De Rita, general secretary of Censis – the results of the investigation, in fact, certify that, in the multiplicity of forms of contemporary social hardship, about which we still know too little, it is now necessary to also include ophthalmological fragility which can involve social groups that only partially coincide with those of traditional socioeconomic hardship” specifies De Rita.
“A piece of the picture on visual health in Italy”. “I thank Censis – replies Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, president of the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Italy Foundation – who contributed with this first investigation to putting an important piece in the picture of visual health in our country. As Foundation, we continually ask ourselves what we can do in our country. We strive every day to involve an increasingly widespread network of local entities in our assistance, prevention and awareness-raising activities”.
Commitments for 2025. Even in 2025 the Foundation will work to guarantee the right to sight to the most vulnerable people throughout the national territory through the constant development of the solidarity network of which it is a dynamic driving force and the implementation of concrete initiatives in the field.
The stages for the Jubilee. In the Jubilee year, 4 additional special stops are planned in Rome of the now consolidated appointment with the Sight Days which offers access to free eye exams to indigent people and prescription glasses where needed. Furthermore, in the strong commitment towards the suburbs, the appointment in collaboration with theInternational Agency for the Prevention of Blindness IAPB-Italia Onlus in the Zen neighborhood of Palermo.
#Sight #million #Italians #eye #problems #million #poverty #give #visits #economic #reasons
–
