Basic Low Vision for Primary Care

Globally, 2.2 billion people are considered to have an uncorrected visual impairment (World Health Organization, Vision impairment and blindness, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment , 2024). Of this group, roughly 1.1 billion people were living with uncorrectable vision loss in 2020, or low vision. As recently as 2016, it was estimated 7,675,600 people reported having a visual impairment in the United States alone, around 2.4% of the total population. Visual impairment can be congenital in origin, develop secondary to genetic factors, result from injury or infection, or occur because of another medical condition. A myriad of rehabilitation devices are available for those with low vision to function safely, independently, and efficiently.