Topics: Vision impairment

Enhancing Services for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deafblind Patients in Rural America

Deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind people in rural communities may struggle to access healthcare due to a lack of interpreters as well as providers’ misunderstanding of their culture and communication needs. A Michigan clinic hires ASL-fluent staff and provides telemental health, a New Jersey state division provides deaf sensitivity training, and a Colorado program brings interpreters to rural communities.

Rural Americans of all ages often go without eye healthcare, a gap that has obvious consequences: blindness and low vision. National associations and an FQHC administrator talk about how rural vision care can be improved to increase quality of life and prevent disability in rural patients.

Teleophthalmology has an established track record. Two ophthalmologists talk about present and future realities for remote eye care technology.

Public health experts, researchers, and organizations who are concerned about eye health in rural America note new data collection efforts to be able to better understand vision care needs. Screening guidelines also play an important part in vision care in rural America.

Highlighting eye care as more than prescribing glasses, an optometrist explains how the medical model of optometry brings additional health benefits to rural patients.

The Rural Monitor

Articles and resources on key rural health issues, from the Rural Health Information Hub

Topics: Vision impairment

Enhancing Services for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deafblind Patients in Rural America

Eye Health Needs: Preserving the Eyesight of Rural and Underserved Populations

Teleophthalmology: Ophthalmologists Talk Remote Eye Care Solutions

Looking at Vision-related Data: Research Gaps and Eye Care Guidelines

Rural Eye Healthcare: Optometrist Explains the Benefits of the Medical Model of Optometry