Eye Injury: A Public Health Burden Review

Abstract

Aims: Eye injury causes significant morbidity and is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. The current report assesses whether there has been any improvement (or, change in general) in respect of the burden of eye injury in Australia since it was first identified as a concern in the 1990s. The report focuses on the state of Victoria, Australia, but positions the information and findings within the context of broad global consideration.  Study Design: The study design comprises an epidemiological assessment of experiential and observational evidence globally.  Place and Duration of Study: The research was conducted at Melbourne University (Rank of No. 1 in Australia and No. 33 in the world) during years 2007 – 2009 and as a private consultant, 2016.  Methodology: During 2007 – 2009, the VAED Dataset was surveyed for eye injury during the period spanning 2001-2005. Specific focus on a rural location, Mildura Rural City, was performed through review of patient medical files. Review of the global medical database ENTREZ PMD was also performed, spanning 1990 – 2016. Three separate sources were utilized as a means of data triangulation and validation.    Results: The key finding of the report is that no improvement appears to have been observed in respect of the burden represented by eye injury in approximately twenty five years despite significant public health funding including campaigns directed toward raising awareness.      Conclusion: Given the burden represented by eye injury appears to be irretractable, it may be worth considering re-direction of the finances previously directed toward eye injury prevention toward another area, by way of formal cost-benefit analysis (such as decision tree analysis), based on measures including estimated cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained.