Posted on May 9, 2002 at 9:45 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The UAB Vision Science Research Center will begin the pilot phase of an extensive Black Belt rural screening and research program aimed at assessing the prevalence and progression of eye disease due to glaucoma and diabetes. The program is made possible through $325,000 in grant money from several non-profit and state agencies.

The screenings will begin May 14 when a team of eye care professionals will travel to Marion in Perry County to begin the first of several outreach initiatives in four Alabama Black Belt counties: Perry, Lowndes, Dallas and Montgomery.

Using a mobile screening unit, UAB eye care professionals will spend up to six days in each county offering free screenings for glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, visual acuity, high blood pressure and hearing problems.

Glaucoma, an eye disease characterized by an increase in the fluid pressure inside the eyeball, and diabetes, a complicated disorder affecting the blood vessels of the eye and other organ systems, are the leading causes of blindness, especially in those over 40.

Leaders of the project hope the screenings will improve access to care through an extensive referral, treatment and follow-up network for some of Alabama’s most at-risk citizens — those who face the biggest health care hurdles in terms of access and those who are most likely to develop the diseases.

VSRC Director Kent Keyser, Ph.D., says a screening and referral system is much-needed in the poorer, more rural areas of Alabama. “The counties we will be visiting have a majority of African-American residents. The residents are generally poor, with an unemployment rate of about three times the national average, and 36 to 43 percent live below the poverty level. And the illiteracy rate is at least 36 percent,” Keyser said.

“This population presents special challenges. For one, we know glaucoma and diabetes are more prevalent in African-Americans than in whites, and the diseases are more than five times more likely to cause blindness in blacks than in whites.

“In addition, effective outreach to rural, generally low-income populations must be tailored to meet the needs of the targeted population. For example, we can hand out brochures outlining the need for screening and early treatment to prevent blindness all day long, but if we’re handing them out to people who can’t read, we’re not accomplishing anything.”

The researchers hope to achieve several objectives with the project, says Mary Jean Sanspree, Ph.D., co-director of the project. “There is the screening component, in which we hope to catch and prevent these diseases early. There’s a research component, in which we hope to identify the prevalence of these diseases, develop a database and follow the progression of the diseases. And lastly, there’s an educational component, in which we hope to identify and develop appropriate educational materials for this audience,” Sanspree said.

The extensive project, which Sanspree says is one of the most unique university-community partnerships in the country, involves coordination and participation from UAB’s VSRC, the UAB School of Optometry, UAB School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology, the Alabama Department of Public Health along with local county health departments, the Provost Education Foundation, Lions Clubs International Foundation, Alabama Lions Sight Conservation Association Inc., Central Alabama Community Foundation and the Vision Service Plan.

Following the three-day visit to Perry County in May, screening visits will be made to Lowndes, Dallas and Montgomery counties.