Post on 04-Apr-2020
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+
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Table of contents
Executive Summary 3
Detailed Findings 5
Methodology 15
Contact 18
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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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.
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DETAILED FINDINGS
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Large majorities consider vision at least somewhat important to
themselves and to others.
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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
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Nearly all consider maintaining their vision at least somewhat important
to their quality of life.
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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
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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.
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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
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Given their concerns, it isn’t surprising that older adults are regularly
seeking care for their eyes.
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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
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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.
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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%
General health Health of your eyes
Look for information only when it is necessary
26%
33%
General health Health of your eyes
Do not look uphealth information
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Difficulty reading up close, blurry vision, and difficulty seeing at night top
the list of vision issues experienced by midlife and older adults.
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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
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People show a high awareness of — and interest in — eye
health and related topics.
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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
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Many are unfamiliar with relatively common eye conditions.
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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
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One-third are extremely or very interested in noninvasive tech-related
vision solutions, while another third are somewhat interested.
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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
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METHODOLOGY
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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.
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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 tkeenan@aarp.org.
Acknowledgements
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Teresa A. Keenan, AARP Research
tkeenan@aarp.org
For media inquiries, please contact media@aarp.org
This research was designed and executed by AARP Research
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