Abstract
Purpose :
The burden of eye disease in America disproportionately falls upon uninsured, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and racial/ethnic minority populations due to a lack of vision care and decreased eye care utilization. The Kress Vision Program (KVP) is a community-based screening, referral, and treatment program that operates out of an ophthalmology clinic to provide free vision services to uninsured New Yorkers. We aimed to characterize the KVP’s patient population and to determine the treatment, referral, and follow-up rates for ocular diseases encountered. We propose the KVP as an effective outreach model that establishes strong relationships with community-based organizations (CBOs) for the early detection and management of eye diseases in a high-risk NYC patient population.
Methods :
We performed a retrospective review of patients seen at the KVP from October 2020 to January 2023. Patient demographics, referral organizations, vision screening results, ocular diagnoses, reasons for specialty referral, appointment attendance, treatment outcomes, and follow-up rates were recorded. Data was analyzed using descriptive analyses.
Results :
623 of 892 patients (69.8%) referred to the KVP from 27 different CBOs and affiliates attended their initial screening visit. On average, patients were aged 49.7±13.1 years with the majority identifying as Hispanic/Latino (67.1%) or Black/African American (17.2%). 70.9% of patients were female, 69.7% were non-English speakers, and 75.0% reported a household income <100% of the FPL. 47.5% of patients had a best corrected visual acuity of 20/40 or worse in either eye. 49.1% of patients were referred for further care, most commonly for being a glaucoma suspect (85) or needing a comprehensive (62), retinal (76), or cataract evaluation (35). 78.1% of patients attended their referral appointment for further ophthalmologic care.
Conclusions :
By establishing strong relationships with CBOs, the KVP improves eye care utilization in a high-risk NYC population and demonstrates a high referral follow-up rate comparable to or higher than rates published by other free vision screening programs.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.