Workshop
Workshop to Develop a National Plan of Action for the Promotion of Vision Health and the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness in Canada
Canada lacks a national coordinated action plan to promote vision health and to reduce the incidence of avoidable blindness for use by governments, public health officials, industry and interested group. Vision Health is not on the national health care agenda.
The National Coalition for Vision Health hosted a Workshop to Develop a National Plan of Action for the Promotion of Vision Health and the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness in Canada in Toronto on February 12-13, 2007 chaired by Dr. Martin Steinbach from the University of Toronto.
The purpose of this invitational workshop was to develop a national coordinated plan for vision health in Canada. Participants were selected by the organizing committee due to their knowledge, expertise and interest in the future of vision health for Canada. They included ophthalmologists/epidemiologists, optometrists, opticians, federal and provincial government, industry, and national stakeholder organizations.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Hugh Taylor, Professor of Ophthalmology in Australia and one of the authors of Clear Insight the Economic Impact and Cost of Vision Loss in Australia. He is a world leader in ophthalmic epidemiology and the economic and social costs of vision loss.
Several key documents were prepared by NCVH including a research document, Foundations for a Canadian Vision Health Strategy, a Workshop Report and a summary of immediate recommendations. These are available to download below.