Why don't younger adults in England go to have their eyes examined?

PURPOSE: Most research on attitudes to eye health has focussed on older people, reflecting the higher prevalence of eye diseases in older age groups. Little is known about younger people's attitudes to eye health. This paper explores young adults understanding of eye health and the purpose of eye examinations and the reasons why they do or do not attend for eye examinations. The aim is to provide evidence to inform policy on recommendations relating to eye health for individuals at low risk of visual impairment.

METHODS: Six focus-group meetings were held in Leeds with 43 people aged 18-35 (mean age 22 years). Focus group participants were recruited using a snowballing approach from an initial group of young adults. Focus groups were transcribed and a thematic analysis approach was used.

RESULTS: Children who wore spectacles were often bullied. As people grew up it became more socially acceptable to wear spectacles. Practicalities, aesthetics and fashion were important issues. Knowledge about eye disease and the eye examination were generally poor. Many claimed to value vision, but recognised that young people do not have eye examinations as often as they should. Eye examinations were only perceived to be needed for younger people experiencing problems or to update prescriptions. Eye health was seen as issue for older people. Some had no idea or were shocked about how much spectacles cost. Optometrists were seen differently to other healthcare professionals. The retail aspect of optometry was seen as too dominant. More information was wanted from the NHS on eye health.

CONCLUSION: While young adults are at low risk of sight threatening disease, many do benefit from correction of refractive error. There is an argument for reducing the recommended frequency of eye examinations for low risk individuals from the 2 years currently advised. Nevertheless, young adults need to be made more aware of eye health issues, so that optometrists are seen as more than somewhere that sell spectacles. Increasing awareness of eye health in younger adulthood will also be important to ensure that services are appropriately accessed as they get older.