The following is a summary of “Eye care in federally qualified health centers,” published in the April 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Woodward et al.

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) were established in the U.S. with an objective of providing comprehensive, affordable, and accessible healthcare to underserved and low-income communities. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to determine the change in FQHCs (2017 and 2021) and also assess the differences in neighborhood demographics and social risk factors (SRFs) between FQHCs based on eye care services availability. 

They analyzed the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), FQHC data and American Community Survey SRFs data (2017-2021). The comparison between FQHCs with and without vision care was performed using Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests, and logistic regression models were used to find neighborhood factors linked to providing vision care, adjusting for patient characteristics.

The results showed that in 2017, 28.5% of FQHCs (375/1318) provided vision care, rising to 32% (435/1362) in 2021. Only 2.6% of patients with FQHC received eye care in 2021. Of the 435 FQHCs with vision care in 2021, 27.1% (n=118) added it since 2017, 71.5% (n=311) had it since 2017, and 1.4% (n=6) were new. The FQHCs offering vision care in 2021 were more likely in areas with higher Hispanic/Latino populations (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 without vision care served fewer individuals with Hispanic/Latino (27.2% vs. 33.9%, P=0.0007), patients that were Medicaid-insured (42.8% vs. 46.8%, P<0.0001), and those below the poverty line (61.3% vs. 66.3%, P<0.0001).

Investigators concluded that vision care at FQHCs was limited and mainly found in certain states and suggested expanding eye care services at FQHCs to better serve underserved communities and prevent vision loss.

Source: aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(24)00274-4/abstract#%20