VisionServe Alliance's Big Data Project: Illuminating the Landscape of Blindness and Low Vision in America
Led nationally by VisionServe Alliance with researchers at The Ohio State University College of Optometry and locally by PVA members, the Big Data Project is the only study to provide recent county-level estimates of blindness and low vision with all of the material residing in a single, easy-to-use document. The data elucidates the rate of chronic conditions, quality of life, and disability among older people with and without blindness & low vision. The data sets included in the project are the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the American Community Survey (ACS).
Policymakers and advocates can use the Big Data Project briefings to develop programs to improve the lives and independence of older people with vision loss. Report data provides a powerful tool for agency and organizational leadership – and their development and marketing teams – to quantify the state and local need and strengthen their funding outreach via powerful statistics and current, needs-based data.
Phase I focused on the population age 65+. Future phases will evaluate additional segments of the population. The first phase was made possible by:
- PVA members at the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired SC
- Lions Vision Services
- South Carolina Commission for the Blind
- The Vision Institute
Fundraising for the next phase is already underway.
