PREPARED BY:Larry Ryan & Ciara McCarthyJ.5299
Healthy EyesA Nationally Survey
Prepared for
May 2014
2
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
B A C K G R O U N DO B J E C T I V E S &
P R O C E D U R EH I G H L I G H T S
F I N D I N G SS U M M A R Y
3
• This research was conducted for The Federation of Opticians (FODO) in May 2014 to explore perceptions of the importance of eye tests and establish what proportion of the Irish population has had a test lately.
• Research was undertaken by Behaviour & Attitudes using a nationally representative Barometer (Omnibus) survey. The fieldwork was completed between the 1st – 14th of May 2014.
• Each B&A Barometer is based on a nationally representative quota sample of 1,008 adults (aged 16 years and over) with a fresh sample used per fortnightly survey. – All interviewing is carried out face-to-face
in the respondents’ homes, and the data is recorded on computer by the interviewer.
– The interview is syndicated (i.e. multi-topic) although each section is confidential to its commissioning client.
– Interviewing is conducted across 63 separate sampling locations per survey with these points chosen randomly within a population-representative regional grid.
– Respondents are selected on the basis of quota controls relating to gender, age and social class within region – to ensure that the resultant sample is a microcosm of the national adult population. Quota controls are based on the most recent Census statistics for the national population.
Background, Objectives & Research Procedure
4
Highlights
81
29
21
50
Prioritise eye health over ‘lifestyle’
procedures
Eye test less often
Never had one
Eye test every 2 years
48% have ‘bad
eyesight’24% with a
smartphone or tablet struggle
with eye strain
5
Findings
6
An eye test
Vitamins
Spa Treatment
Celebrity Fitness DVD
Home Teeth Whitening Kit
Diet Pills
None of these
81
8
3
1
1
*
5
Chart Title
Importance of Eye TestsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
%
When asked to personally prioritise a series of health ‘treatments’, most place much greater focus on eye tests.
Q.1 Firstly assuming each of these items cost the same … which ONE, of the following, do you consider most important?
*=Less than 0.5%
7
Eye Test Prioritisation X DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
81 83 80
6274
85 90 9281 80
8980 84
7690
8 7 9
19
127
3 29 8
310 5
11
53 0 6
54
2 2 2 4 3 0 2 43
21 12
42 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 1
211 1
12
2 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 200 0
01
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 005 7 2 8 5 5 4 3 3 6 8 5 4 6 2
All Adults
Gender Age Social Class Area Eye Health
Male Female U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE F Urban RuralNo
impair-ment
Any Impair-ment
% % % % % % % % % % % % % % %
An eye test
VitaminsSpa Treatment
Home Teeth Whitening KitCelebrity Fitness DVD
Diet PillsNone of these
Vitamins and spa treatments may offer more allure for some younger adults, but with the onset of age there is much greater preference of eye tests.
Q.1 Firstly assuming each of these items cost the same … which ONE, of the following, do you consider most important?
8
Prioritisation of Eye Test X Level of VisionBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
All Adults
Level of Vision
Think I have 20/20 vision but have not had eye test
in last 2 years
Eye test in last 2 years confirmed have 20/20
vision
Wear glasses/ lenses for
some tasks but
prescription is over 2 years
old
Wear glasses/lenses constantly but prescription is over 2 years
old
Wear glasses/lenses
for some tasks and
prescription is up-to-date
Wear glasses/lenses
constantly and
prescription is up-to-date
Partially sighted
Registered blind Don’t know
Base: 1008 277 162 141 65 192 77 11* 2* 81
% % % % % % % % % %
An eye test 81 74 79 89 85 92 91 93 50 63
Vitamins 8 11 11 4 5 3 7 7 50 12Spa Treatment 3 4 2 2 5 2 - - - 7Home Teeth Whitening Kit
1 1 2 1 2 1 - - - 3
Celebrity Fitness DVD 1 2 1 2 - - - - - 1
Diet Pills * - 1 1 - - - - - -None of these 5 7 4 2 3 2 1 - - 15
Q.1 Assuming each of these items cost the same, which one would you consider most important?
The differences are slight although current glasses wearers place slightly greater focus on eye tests.
*NB: Small base size
9
Vitamins
Spa Treatment
Home Teeth Whitening Kit
An eye test
Celebrity Fitness DVD
Diet Pills
None of these
29
16
10
7
5
2
39
Chart Title
Interest in Other Health ProceduresBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
%
Vitamins tend to come second after eye tests, but as many as 88% of all adults (7 out of 8) would place at least some value on an eye test.
Q.1a And which of the others would you be interested in having at all?
First choice
8%
3%
1%
81%
1%
*%
5%
Any Choice – First of Other
37%
19%
11%
88%
6%
2%
39%
10
Second Choice* X DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
29 26 3321
31 31 30 31 31 28 33 2635
166
26
2117 19 12 10 20
13 11 1616
10
9
11
1411 11
6 710
10 7 9117
5
8
10 10 6
3 5
77
27
55
4
58 5 7
2 1
45
64
62
1
32 2 3
3 1
32
12
3
3953
2532 32 35
49 4734
41 49 4234
All Adults
Gender Age Social Class AreaMale Female U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE F Urban Rural
% % % % % % % % % % % % %
Vitamins
Spa Treatment
Home Teeth Whitening Kit
An eye testCelebrity Fitness DVD
Diet Pills
None of these
Interesting contrasts evident when examining differences by age: spa treatment and home teeth whitening kits reduce in importance with age whereas vitamins marginally
grow in importance with age. Men and older adults more likely to feel that they wouldn’t value any of these.
Q.1a And which of the others would you be interested in having at all?
*NB: 81% had chose an eye test first
11
Eye Tests in Context (First and Other Choices Combined)Base: All Adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
All Adults Gender Age Social Class Area
Male Female -24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE F Urban Rural
Base: 1008 488 520 163 203 268 229 145 440 497 71 642 366
% % % % % % % % % % % % %
An eye test 88 88 88 72 84 91 93 97 88 88 91 87 89
Vitamins 37 33 42 40 43 38 32 33 39 36 36 36 40
Spa Treatment 19 6 31 26 21 21 15 12 24 16 11 18 21Home Teeth Whitening Kit 11 10 13 18 13 12 7 7 11 12 7 11 12
Diet Pills 2 1 3 3 2 3 3 2 3 2 1 2 3Celebrity Fitness DVD 6 5 6 10 7 8 2 1 5 6 6 5 7
None of these 4 6 1 7 5 3 3 1 2 4 8 4 3
Q.1Q.1a
Assuming each of these items cost the same, which one would you consider most important?And which of the others would you be interested in having at all?
Younger adults express more superficial and cosmetic needs: teeth whitening and spa trips are upweighted younger whereas older adults place more focus on eye tests. Women are 5 times more likely to nominate a spa treatment than men.
12
Eye Test Frequency X DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
16 15 17 13 14 1219
2615 18
716 16
8
26
3429
38
16 2033
47
51
37 3039
34 33
18
52
2222
22
2222
24
2214
2319
29 20 24
27
18
710
5
107
11
35
7
7
98 6
11
321 24 19
39 3620
9 417
2615
22 2036
1
All Adults
Gender Age Social Class Area Eye Health
Male Female U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE F Urban RuralNo
Impair-ment
Any Impair-ment
% (000s) % % % % % % % % % % % % % %
Once a year or more
At least every 2 years
At least every 5 years
Once every ten years
I never go for an eye test
Half the population say that they have had an eye test in the past 2 years. By 50 almost 2 in 3 are claiming to have a test every 2nd year. This is as high as 4 in 5 for those with bad eyesight but just a quarter among those with good eyesight.
Q.2 Which of these best describes how often you go for an eye test
(572,000)
(1,192,000)
(766,000)
(261,000)
(761,000)
13
Eye Test Frequency X Level of VisionBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
All Adults Level of Vision
Think I have 20/20 vision but have not had eye test
in last 2 years
Eye test in last 2 years confirmed have 20/20
vision
Wear glasses/ lenses for
some tasks but
prescription is over 2 years old
Wear glasses/lenses constantly
but prescription
is over 2 years old
Wear glasses/lense
s for some tasks and
prescription is up-to-date
Wear glasses/lenses constantly
and prescription is up-to-date
Partially sighted
Registered blind Don’t know
Base: 1008 277 162 141 65 192 77 11* 2* 81
% % % % % % % % % %
Once a year or more 16 - 22 16 16 35 29 29 - 4
At least every 2 years 34 8 37 41 53 58 62 45 - 9
At least every 5 years 22 29 24 34 26 6 8 16 - 15
Once in every ten years 7 14 6 7 1 1 2 10 50 10
I never go for an eye test 21 49 11 2 4 - - - 50 61
Q.2 Which of these best describes how often you go for an eye test
There is a direct relationship between frequency of eye tests and quality of vision.
*NB: Small base size
14
Eye cancer
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Brain tumours
High Cholesterol
Depression
Pregnancy
None of these
Don’t know
61
43
27
23
12
3
1
6
20
Chart Title
What can eye tests detect?Base: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
%
Almost 2 in 3 (61%) adults imagine that eye cancer could be detected during a simple eye test. However, knowledge that other conditions such as diabetes
are detectable is much lower.
Q.3 Which of the following, if any, do you think can be detected during an eye test? Please code all that apply
Eye Health
Any Impairment
No Impairment
% %
56 71
35 53
24 33
17 30
9 16
4 2
2 1
8 3
25 11
15
Perspective of Eye Tests x DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
All Adults Gender Age Social Class Area
Male Female -24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE F Urban Rural
Base: 1008 488 520 163 203 268 229 145 440 497 71 642 366
% % % % % % % % % % % % %
Eye cancer 61 57 64 48 54 65 68 65 71 53 65 57 66
Diabetes 43 40 46 24 32 46 51 59 46 39 51 39 49High blood pressure 27 23 31 14 20 30 34 35 31 24 27 25 30
Brain tumours 23 17 28 18 16 28 26 22 28 18 22 21 25High Cholesterol 12 10 14 6 9 15 12 17 15 10 12 9 16
Depression 3 3 2 3 5 1 3 3 3 3 1 3 2
Pregnancy 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 0 1 1 2
None of these 6 6 5 9 10 3 5 2 3 7 7 6 4
Don’t know 20 23 17 33 25 18 12 13 14 24 20 21 18
Q.3 Which of the following, if any, do you think can be detected during an eye test? Please code all that apply
That an eye test might show up anything ‘else’ is a relatively alien notion to those that are younger in age.
16
Current Level of VisionBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
28 31 26
45 45
31
11 7
25 3124 29 28
16 1714
2416
19
13
5
20 1313
16 16
1415
13
67
13
21
25
13 1518
15 13
66
7
23
7
714
7 65
5 9
18 1423
89 16
30 30
19 18 2018 18
7 6 8 3 45 12 14 7 7 11 8 6
1 2 10 1
03 2
0 2 0 1 20 0 00 0
01 0
0 0 0 0 08 9 8 12 13 9
3 3 8 9 8 8 9
All Adults
Gender Age Social Class AreaMale Female U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE F Urban Rural
% % % % % % % % % % % % %
I think I have 20/20 vision but I have not had an eye test in the last 2 years
An eye test in the last 2 years has confirmed that I have 20/20 vision
I wear glasses/contact lenses for some tasks but the prescription is over 2
years oldI wear glasses/contact lenses
constantly but the prescription is over 2 years old
I wear glasses/contact lenses for some tasks and I know the prescription is
up-to-date
I wear glasses/contact lenses constantly and I know the prescription
is up-to-dateI am partially sightedI am registered blind
Don’t know
Q.4 Which one of these, if any, best describes your level of vision?
Half (48%) currently experience some sort of visual impairment. Younger adults are the least likely to have had an eye test within the past 2 years.
17
Smartphone Eye Strain X DemographicsBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
58 60 5669 70
63
42 39
6454 49
60 5470
42
10 8 11
10 13
10
123
11
910
1010
7
14
4 3 5
7 2
5
3
3
3
50
43
3
5
4 3 5
7 45
2
0
5
3
2
43
4
4
25 27 238 11 17
4055
1729
39
2130
15
35
All Adults
Gender Age Social Class Area Eye Health
Male Female U24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE F Urban RuralNo
Impair-ment
Any Impair-ment
% % % % % % % % % % % % % % %
No, I never experience eye strain
Yes, experience after using my Smartphone/
tablet for 1 hourYes, experience after
using my Smartphone/ Tablet for 2 hours
Yes, experience after using my Smartphone/
Tablet for 3 hours
Don’t have a smartphone or tablet
Almost 1 in 5 (18% or 24% of those with a smartphone or tablet) have previously experienced eye strain when using their smartphone/tablet. Those
most likely to mention it are younger and female. It is quite possible that many who are visually impaired have avoided getting a smartphone or tablet.
Q.5 Do you experience eye strain when using your Smartphone/Tablet?
18%
18
Smartphone Eye Strain X Level of VisionBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
All Adults Level of Vision
Eye test in last 2 years
confirmed have 20/20
vision
Think I have 20/20 vision but have not
had eye test in last 2 years
Wear glasses/ lenses for
some tasks but prescription is over 2 years
old
Wear glasses/lenses constantly but prescription is over 2 years
old
Wear glasses/lenses for some tasks
and prescription is
up-to-date
Wear glasses/lenses constantly and prescription is
up-to-date
Partially sighted
Registered blind
Don’t know
Base: 1008 162 277 141 65 192 77 11* 2* 81
% % % % % % % % % %
No, I never experience eye strain 58 73 68 39 40 45 45 11 100 82
Yes, I experience eye strain after using my Smartphone/tablet for 1 hour
10 9 6 15 14 13 12 20 - 3
Yes, I experience eye strain after using my Smartphone/Tablet for 2 hours
4 1 4 6 3 5 2 9 - 1
Yes, I experience eye strain after using my Smartphone/Tablet for 3 hours
4 4 5 4 4 4 2 9 - -
Don’t have a smartphone or tablet 25 13 16 35 39 32 38 51 - 14
Q.5 Do you experience eye strain when using your Smartphone/Tablet?
There is some evidence of a relationship between eye strain when tablets are used and having an out of date prescription.
*NB: Small base size
19
Summary of Findings● Almost 9 in 10 (88%) adults agree that an eye test is more important than taking vitamins
(8%), getting a spa treatment (3%), purchasing a celebrity fitness DVD (1%), or a home teeth whitening kit (1%).
● Half of all adults indicate that they go for an eye test at least every two years. 1 in 5 have never had an eye test. These are mainly younger adults, from more working class backgrounds and people with ostensibly good eyes.
● 36% with good vision have never had an eye test.● Almost 2 in 3 imagine that eye cancer could be detectable from a simple eye test. ● 48% of adults have a visual impairment of some sort, with the majority of these (25%)
agreeing that they wear glasses/contact lenses and they know their prescription is up-to-date.
● 58% have never experienced eye strain when using a smartphone or tablet. Those who experience eye strain are mainly female and younger: a quarter of smartphone or tablet users experience some degree of eye strain.
20
Analysis of SampleBase: All adults 16+ 1,008/3,551,000
49
15
4029
51
21
52
26
29
7
2720
1815
Gender%
Age%
Social Class
%Region
%
Male
Female
U24
25-34
35-49
50-64
65+
ABC1
C2DE
F
Dublin
Leinster
Munster
Conn/Uls
The structure of the sample reflects the quotas which are set for it.
21