A Review of Corneal Blindness Data from the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) Repository

Authors

Ramona Bashshur, JD, MJ, CFPH
Madeline DeMarco

Keywords

Corneal Blindness, RAAB, Avoidable Blindness

Abstract

Introduction: Corneal blindness continues to be a leading cause of avoidable vision loss and blindness. The Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) is a standardized survey instrument that measures causes of blindness and provides results in an accessible online format.

Objective: We examined the studies contained in the RAAB repository to measure the availability of data on corneal blindness as represented on the main page of for each study.

Methods: 331 studies from 2007 through the present were reviewed. After exclusion criteria were applied the final dataset consisted of 145 studies. Results for causes of blindness reported on the main pages for each study were then compared with the complete study results.

Results: Corneal blindness findings represent a significant cause of avoidable blindness, with regional variation, and were generally underrepresented on the RAAB main page findings.

Conclusion: As the RAAB format continues to evolve, minor revisions to this survey instrument could be included to represent more clearly where corneal blindness is significant cause of vision loss and blindness and thus assist in regional and global vision service planning.