Eye health measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2023
In early December The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released the 2023 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye measures report. This is the second Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye measures report released this year as the 2022 report was published in March 2023.
The 2023 report is a suite of three products
The 2023 reports are linked above and can be found at :https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/indigenous-eye-health-measures-2023/summary
Eye diseases and vision problems are the most common long-term health conditions reported by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people. The 2023 report is the seventh annual report to update the Eye health measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The measures cover the prevalence of eye health conditions, diagnosis and treatment services, the eye health workforce and outreach services.
The 2023 reports provide the latest evidence base for monitoring changes in eye health amongst First Nations people over time, their access and use of eye health services, and for identifying gaps in service delivery.
The highlights of the 2023 report for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people include:
- trachoma national prevalence continues to fall and have been less than 5% for the past decade (children aged 5-9 years in at-risk communities)
- the number of eye exams by an optometrist/ophthalmologist have increased but are not provided at a rate consistent with other Australians
- the number of cataract surgeries for individual people have increased but do not meet projected needs
IEHU plan to publish some jurisdictional snapshot reports to highlight the various eye measures in each jurisdiction.
