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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Reduce vision loss in children and adolescents — V‑03 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

Data Source:  National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), CDC/NCHS

Baseline: 39.0 per 1,000 children and adolescents aged 17 years and under were blind or visually impaired in 2019

Target: 31.2 per 1,000

Numerator
Number of children and adolescents aged 17 years and under who wear glasses or contact lenses and have some or a lot of difficulty seeing or cannot see at all.
Denominator
Number of children and adolescents aged 17 years and under.
Target-setting method
Percent improvement
Target-setting method details
20 percent improvement from the baseline.
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were evaluated for this objective, but it was not possible to project a target because NHIS questions were changed in 2019. See Data Methodology and Measurement for more information. A 20 percent improvement from the baseline was used to calculate a target. This method was used because the Healthy People 2030 Workgroup Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) expected that improved outreach, education, and access to eye care may assist in meeting this target. The SMEs viewed this as an ambitious yet achievable target.

Methodology

Questions used to obtain the national baseline data

(For additional information, please visit the data source page linked above.)

From the 2019 National Health Interview Survey:

Numerator and Denominator:
Does {child's name} wear glasses or contact lenses?
  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Refused
  4. Don't know

If answered "yes" (1) then asked:

Does [child's name] have difficulty seeing? Would you say {child's name} has: no difficulty, some difficulty, a lot of difficulty, or he/she cannot do this at all ?
  1. No difficulty
  2. Some difficulty
  3. A lot of difficulty
  4. Cannot do at all
  5. Refused
  6. Don't know

Methodology notes

If parent or responsible adult answered that the child was wearing glasses then they were asked the second question whether the child had any difficulty seeing. Those children who had some difficulty, a lot of difficulty or cannot see at all were included in the numerator as children with visual impairment and blindness.

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Modified, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 but underwent a change in measurement.
Revision History
  • Revised. 

    In 2021, this objective was revised due to the 2019 NHIS redesign and survey question changes. The baseline questions changed from: "Does {child's name} have any trouble seeing even when wearing glasses or contact lenses?" to "Does {child name} wear glasses?" and Does [child's name] have difficulty seeing? Would you say {child's name} has: no difficulty, some difficulty, a lot of difficulty, or he/she cannot do this at all?” The baseline was revised from 38.0% in 2017 to 39.0% in 2019. The target was revised from 30.4% to 31.2% using the original target setting method.
  • Revised. 

    In 2024, the following categories were recalculated with the use of a newer variable: American Indian or Alaska Native only, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander only, 2 or more races only, Not Hispanic or Latino American Indian or Alaska Native only, Not Hispanic or Latino Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander only, Not Hispanic or Latino 2 or more races only. Estimates from data year 2021 or earlier may vary slightly from estimates previously reported. The baseline, baseline year and target were not affected.