Prevent Blindness launches Gr8 Eye Movement with award-winning actress Debbie Allen

Prevent Blindness has teamed up with Regeneron and award-winning actress, dancer and director Debbie Allen to launch the Gr8 Eye Movement, a new campaign that aims to prioritize eye health and heighten awareness of serious retinal diseases.

Nearly 20 million Americans are living with age-related macular degeneration — the most common cause of irreversible blindness among older adults, according to a Prevent Blindness press release. Diabetes also is a leading cause of new blindness in the United States, a condition that has affected several generations of Allen’s family and prompted her to become involved in the Gr8 Eye Movement campaign.

“My mother turned 100 years old this summer,” Allen told Healio. “I’m on the proactive side of her health, and one of our most important visits is to the eye doctor. We have been on the lookout for wet age-related macular degeneration.”

A primary goal of the campaign is to address the lack of knowledge people may have about retinal diseases that cause blindness by providing educational resources, tips and reminders, all of which can be found on the campaign’s website.

“I think the medical community can help us sound this alarm and help us get the message out there so we can help people,” Allen said. “We’re talking about millions of people at risk.”

Healio spoke with Prevent Blindness President and CEO Jeff Todd, JD, to discuss the campaign and how clinicians can increase awareness of retinal diseases.

Healio: Which diseases are the focus of this campaign?

Todd: We’re focusing on retinal diseases such as wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy. These are among the most prevalent eye diseases that this country faces, with diabetic eye disease being the leading cause of blindness for working-age adults, and macular degeneration being the most prevalent for those older than 65 years.

These are really important conditions for folks to be aware of. And it’s our hope that this campaign will encourage those at risk for these conditions to better understand that and prioritize their eye care.

Healio: How is Debbie Allen involved in the campaign?

Todd: She is going to be the voice and the face of the campaign. Debbie Allen is an icon whose diversity of work and talents have touched generations. We knew that the population we wanted to reach included those at greatest risk for developing these conditions: people aged 60 years and older, communities of color and those who are living with or at risk for developing diabetes.

Ms. Allen has had family members blinded by diabetic eye disease, and she herself has prediabetes. She is a prime member of this target population, and we knew she would be the perfect person to encourage others to prioritize their own health.

Healio: Prevent Blindness conducted a survey before launching the campaign. What did you learn?

Todd: We surveyed 667 adults who are at risk for retinal diseases and found that an overwhelming — I was a bit surprised by this number — 95% lack knowledge about these retinal diseases, indicating that they’re likely not taking the necessary steps to care for their vision. We also found that most at-risk adults, about 67%, believe that vision loss is a normal part of aging, even as 70% of them have experienced symptoms of retinal disease.

And, of great importance for this campaign, we found that once equipped with knowledge about retinal disease and risk factors, 79% will take steps to address changes in their vision. So it really highlights the importance of education and awareness.

Healio: What can clinicians do to raise awareness of these diseases?

Todd: Although this campaign is primarily aimed at those most at risk for these conditions, clinicians play a significant role in increasing awareness among their patients, simply by talking to them about the risks and the importance of routine eye care.

We know clinicians don’t have a lot of time with their patients, but they certainly can direct them to resources such as the Gr8 Eye Movement website and others, take advantage of the time they have to be aware of their patients’ eye care needs and encourage them to take care of their eyes.

One of the most important messages for all of us is that vision loss isn’t an inevitable part of aging. This is certainly something we learned in this survey, but it’s also something people hear all the time. Our eyes change as we age — that is going to happen along with the rest of our body. But with proper care and preventive steps, we can avoid certain eye diseases and at least slow the progression of vision loss.

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For more information:

Find resources like printable info sheets and sign up for monthly reminders at www.gr8eyemovement.com.