U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Increase the use of assistive and adaptive devices by people with vision loss — V‑09 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

Data Source:  National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), CDC/NCHS

Baseline: 13.5 percent of adults 18 years and over with visual impairment used assistive and adaptive devices in 2023

Target: 17.1 percent

Numerator
Number of adults aged 18 years and over who have difficulty seeing and use any visual assistive and adaptive devices.
Denominator
Number of adults aged 18 years and over who have some, or a lot of difficulty seeing, or cannot do it at all.
Target-setting method
Percentage point improvement
Target-setting method details
Percentage point improvement from the baseline using Cohen's h effect size of 0.10.
1
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were not available. A percentage point improvement was calculated using Cohen's h effect size of 0.1. This method was used because it represents an ambitious yet achievable target for this objective and it is a statistically significant improvement from the baseline. New technologies, such as recently FDA-approved retinal prostheses, and the integration of adaptive devices in smart phones will increase the availability and use in the coming decade.

Methodology

Questions used to obtain the national baseline data

(For additional information, please visit the data source page linked above.)

From the 2023 National Health Interview Survey Vision Supplement:

Numerator:
Do you use any adaptive devices such as telescopic or other prescriptive lenses, magnifiers, large print or talking materials, CCTV, white cane, or guide dog?
  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Refused
  4. Don't know
Numerator and Denominator:
Do you have any difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses? Would you say
  1. No difficulty
  2. Some difficulty
  3. A lot of difficulty
  4. Cannot do at all
  5. Refused
  6. Don't know

Methodology notes

Persons who respond " some, a lot of difficulty seeing or cannot do it at all" and use of any vision adaptive devices meet the criteria for this objective.

Age-adjustment notes

This Indicator uses Age-Adjustment Groups:

  • Total: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Sex: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Race/Ethnicity: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Educational Attainment: 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Family Income (percent poverty threshold): 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Family Type: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Country of Birth: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Disability Status: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Geographic Location: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Health Insurance Status: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64
  • Sexual orientation: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+
  • Marital Status: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Modified, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 but underwent a change in measurement.
Changes between HP2020 and HP2030
Due to 2019 NHIS redesign and the visual impairment survey question changes, 2023 vision supplement data were not directly comparable with previous years.
Revision History
Revised. 

In 2024, this objective was revised due to the 2019 NHIS redesign and survey question changes. The baseline questions changed from: " Do you have any trouble seeing, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses? Yes/No" to "Do you have any difficulty seeing? Would you say: No difficulty, Some difficulty, A lot of difficulty, or Cannot do this at all?” The baseline was revised from 12.4% in 2017 to 13.5% in 2023. The target was revised from 15.9% to 17.1% using the same target setting method.

1. Effect size h=0.1 was chosen to correspond with 10% improvement from a baseline of 50%.