-As Women are at Higher Risk for Sight-threatening Eye Disease, Vision Changes During Pregnancy and Menopause, and other Vision Issues, Prevent Blindness offers Free Educational Resources and Advocates for Equal Access to Eyecare-
CHICAGO, March 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Prevent Blindness, the nation’s leading patient advocacy organization dedicated to preventing blindness and preserving sight, has once again declared April as Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month. Because women are at higher risk of eye disease and certain eye conditions than men, Prevent Blindness offers free educational resources to consumers and health care professionals, including videos, fact sheets, social media graphics, educational videos and web pages.
Women are at higher risk than men for:
- Autoimmune Conditions (including thyroid eye disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjögren’s syndrome)
- Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Geographic Atrophy
- Blindness and significant vision impairment
- Glaucoma
- Dry Eye
- Refractive Error
- Vision changes due to pregnancy, use of birth control, or menopause
“Women can help to avoid unnecessary vision impairment by educating themselves on the eye diseases and conditions that may affect them and by taking preventive steps today to maintain healthy eyesight,” said Kira Baldonado, Executive Vice President at Prevent Blindness. “However, gender inequities in terms of access to quality eyecare must be addressed in the United States and around the world to help ensure that healthy vision is a right available to all.”
According to the “Eye Health for Women and Girls” report from the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, globally, women have greater barriers to accessing eye care services. While women face many of the same barriers as men (e.g. unaffordable direct and indirect costs, fear of treatment, distance to health facilities, etc.), this is often compounded by numerous additional gendered barriers to access, such as lack of education, limited decision-making power within their households, poor access to financial resources, and other issues. These factors contribute to a higher risk of avoidable blindness.
Since 1908, Prevent Blindness has led policy change and access to eyecare initiatives at both the state and national levels for adults and children. This includes establishing the first volunteer-led screening programs to support the early identification of glaucoma and promoting early detection of vision problems. Prevent Blindness has also advanced understanding of the prevalence of eye diseases and vision loss in the United States, with our advocacy efforts helping to establish a vision research and prevention program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Prevent Blindness offers various educational resources on women’s vision issues. New this year, Sherrol Reynolds, O.D., Professor of Optometry at Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry, Chief of the Davie Primary Care Clinic, Director of the Retina Clinic, and long-time Prevent Blindness volunteer, will join the April episode of the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Podcast to discuss what women need to know to help protect their vision and keep eyes healthy, specifically while managing chronic conditions such as diabetes.
Episodes in the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Expert Series include:
- “Healthy Vision and Eye Safety Tips for Women,” featuring Maria Sampalis, OD, owner of Sampalis Eye Care and a Prevent Blindness volunteer, discussing the importance of women accessing regular eyecare, barriers some may face, how eye exams can help detect other health conditions, and more.
- “Women’s Eye Health and Safety” features Janine Austin Clayton, MD, FARVO, Director, Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Clayton also wrote this “Women and Eye Health” essay for Prevent Blindness.
Prevent Blindness also collaborated with the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) on the SWHR Patient Toolkit: A Guide to Women’s Eye Health. Free for download, the toolkit provides easy-to-understand information on eye health, including common eye symptoms and diseases that disproportionately affect women. The toolkit also includes a “Doctor’s Visit Worksheet,” designed to help patients prepare for their next consultation with their eyecare provider.
For more information on women’s eye health topics, please call (800) 331-2020, or visit PreventBlindness.org.
About Prevent Blindness
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, Prevent Blindness is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more information, visit us at PreventBlindness.org, and follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube.
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SOURCE Prevent Blindness
