%0 Journal Article
%T Eye Care in Federally Qualified Health Centers.
%A Woodward MA
%A Hicks PM
%A Harris-Nwanyanwu K
%A Modjtahedi B
%A Chan RVP
%A Vogt EL
%A Lu MC
%A Newman-Casey PA
%A  
%J Ophthalmology
%V 0
%N 0
%D 2024 Apr 30
%M 38697267
%F 14.277
%R 10.1016/j.ophtha.2024.04.019
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>To assess changes in vision care availability at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) between 2017 and 2021 and whether neighborhood-level demographic social risk factors (SRFs) associated with eye care services provided by FQHCs.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Secondary data analysis of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) data and 2017-2021 American Community Survey (ACS).<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Federally Qualified Health Centers.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Patient and neighborhood characteristics for SRFs were summarized. Differences in FQHCs providing and not providing vision care were compared via Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests for continuous measures and chi-square tests for categorical measures. Logistic regression models were used to test the associations between neighborhood measures and FQHCs providing vision care, adjusted for patient characteristics.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for neighborhood-level predictors of FQHCs providing vision care services.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Overall, 28.5% of FQHCs (n = 375/1318) provided vision care in 2017 versus 32% (n = 435/1362) in 2021 with some increases and decreases in both the number of FQHCs and those with and without vision services. Only 2.6% of people who accessed FQHC services received eye care in 2021. Among the 435 FQHCs that provided vision care in 2021, 27.1% (n = 118) had added vision services between 2017 and 2021, 71.5% (n = 311) had been offering vision services since at least 2017, and 1.4% (n = 6) were newly established. FQHCs providing vision care in 2021 were more likely to be in neighborhoods with a higher percentage of Hispanic/Latino individuals (OR, 1.08, 95% CI, 1.02-1.14, P = 0.0094), Medicaid-insured individuals (OR, 1.08, 95% CI, 1.02-1.14, P = 0.0120), and no car households (OR, 1.07, 95% CI, 1.01-1.13, P = 0.0142). However, FQHCs with vision care, compared to FQHCs without vision care, served a lower percentage of Hispanic/Latino individuals (27.2% vs. 33.9%, P = 0.0007), Medicaid-insured patients (42.8% vs. 46.8%, P < 0.0001), and patients living at or below 100% of the federal poverty line (61.3% vs. 66.3%, P < 0.0001).<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Vision care services are available at a few FQHCs, localized to a few states. Expanding eye care access at FQHCs would meet patients where they seek care to mitigate vision loss to underserved communities.<BR><B>BACKGROUND: </B>Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.