title: Visual acuity, optical, and eye health readiness in the military.
abstract: Optimum vision readiness is essential on today's technologically advanced battlefield. A vision readiness screening of 4,825 active duty personnel at 13 Department of Defense sites from September through December 1997 revealed 4,021 (83.3%) not vision ready: 500 (10.4%) had substandard visual acuity, 1,249 (25.9%) had deficient optical devices, and 3,562 (73.8%) had eye health-related deficiencies. This suggests a more effective ongoing vision readiness process should be implemented to ensure all personnel are vision ready prior to deployment.
authors.affiliation: USACHPPM, Building 1570 Stark Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5422, USA.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Buckingham
authors.forename: Lee L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Cornforth
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Whitwell
authors.forename: Robyn B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D003261:Contact Lenses; D005139:Eyeglasses; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008889:Military Personnel; D010809:Physical Fitness; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015351:Vision Screening; D014792:Visual Acuity