National Eye Institute Eye Health Connection banner featuring a smiling adult wearing glasses, a patient getting eye care from an eye care provider, and an optician holding up an adjustable trial frame.

March 2024

Dear NEHEP Partners,

Thanks to all of you who joined in to promote Glaucoma Awareness Month in January and Low Vision Awareness Month in February! We appreciate all your efforts to share key eye health messages and encourage everyone to prioritize their eye health all year long.

In that spirit, we’re using the March Eye Health Connection newsletter to promote 2 more observances from February — Black History Month and Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Month. Read on to get details about relevant eye health resources and events for Black/African American people, people with AMD, eye health professionals, and students.

We’re also deep in preparations for Healthy Vision Month (HVM) 2024, which is just 2 months away in May. We’ve got some exciting collaborations going to help us spread the word about vision loss and mental health — and we can’t wait to share more very soon! If you’re interested in partnering with NEI for HVM 2024, please email me at maria.zacharias@nih.gov.

Best,

Maria Zacharias

Acting Director, National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP)

National Eye Institute

Share tailored resources with Black/African American people

NEI’s Eye Health, My Health campaign offers resources created to support Black/African American people in prioritizing their eye health — and overall health! It’s got helpful information about talking to the eye doctor, making eye-healthy choices, and paying for eye care.

Explore Eye Health, My Health resources

NEI National Eye Health Education Program graphic showing a Black/African American family enjoying time outside. Text reads: “Eye Health, My Health: A Focus on Your Eyes Can Change Your Life.”

Learn about AMD from eye health experts

Prevent Blindness CEO Jeff Todd discusses AMD and living with low vision with Dr. W. Lloyd Clark, Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. This video is part of the Focus on Eye Health Expert Series.

Watch and share the video

An older couple smiling and shaking hands with a doctor.

Share tips for managing conversations with the eye doctor

Dr. Judy Box joined the Hadley Presents podcast for an episode titled “Getting the Most from Your Eye Doctor Appointments.” She shares tips for managing important conversations with the eye doctor, informed by her own experience living with macular degeneration.

Listen to the episode

Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry’s Eye Opener Sessions graphic with a highly stylized modern pastel eye motif.

Explore a career in optometry

The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry’s new Eye Opener Sessions program matches students considering a career in optometry with optometrists to shadow for a workday, virtually or in person.

Calendar of Events

Event graphic for the American Academy of Optometry’s 2024 Retina and Glaucoma Collaborative Summit on Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. There’s a close-up photo of a retina in the background.

Attend the 2024 Retina & Glaucoma Collaborative Summit

Join the American Academy of Optometry from May 31 to June 1 in Louisville, Kentucky! You’ll learn about current trends in retina care and therapeutic procedures, explore technological developments, and network with industry partners.

Other Events and Resources

March 27: BrightFocus Foundation’s March Macular Chat — “What You Need to Know About Cataracts and Macular Degeneration” — features Dr. Emily Chew, NIH Distinguished Investigator, Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications (DECA) at NEI.

April 11 to 13: Envision will host the Envision Conference East 2024 at Salus University in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

Resource: The International Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology offers Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A New Era, a course that explores current and future therapeutic concepts to treat AMD.

Resource: Prevent Blindness’s new GuideMe app for people with AMD and their care partners creates a customized guide with helpful information, tips, resources, and steps for protecting vision and maintaining quality of life.

The Eye Health Connection is a newsletter developed with the input of NEHEP Partners and shared with the community of NEHEP’s 60+ partner organizations. The links are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only, they do not constitute an endorsement by the National Eye Institute or its employees.

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