Cultural Responsiveness
Vision Awareness Month: Reaching Hispanic and Latino Patients Before Symptoms Appear
October 1, 2026
October’s Vision Awareness Month draws attention to eye diseases that can progress before patients experience pain or noticeable changes in vision. For Hispanic and Latino communities, increasing awareness of glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy is especially important.
Sports Vision and Hispanic/Latino Communities: An Opportunity for Optometrists
September 1, 2026
For many Hispanic and Latino families, sports like soccer and baseball are part of everyday life. Yet vision is rarely part of the conversation.
National Eye Exam Month: Encouraging Lifelong Eye Care
August 2, 2026
How Optometrists Can Help Patients Understand the Value of Comprehensive Eye Examinations
August is National Eye Exam Month—an opportunity to remind the public that comprehensive eye examinations are an essential part of preventive healthcare throughout life.
More Than a Summer Concern: Discussing UV Protection with Hispanic and Latino Patients
July 1, 2026
July is recognized as UV Safety Month, providing an opportunity for eye care professionals to reinforce an important message with patients: protecting the eyes from ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a year-round responsibility, not just a seasonal concern.
Cataract Awareness Month: Prevalence and What It Means for Hispanic/Latino Patients
June 2, 2026
June is Cataract Awareness Month, a reminder that while cataracts are a routine part of clinical care, their growing prevalence—and how that burden is experienced across patient populations—deserves closer attention.
Traumatic Brain Injury in Hispanic Communities: Why Awareness and Communication Matter for Optometrists
May 4, 2026
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health concern in the United States, affecting millions of individuals each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were approximately 214,110 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2020 and 69,473 TBI-related deaths in 2021—representing more than 586 hospitalizations and 190 deaths every day.
When Gender and Culture Intersect: Eye Health Disparities in Hispanic Women
April 1, 2026
April marks Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month, a reminder that women account for nearly two-thirds of blindness and visual impairment in the United States.1 Factors contribute to this increased risk include inherited predisposition, autoimmune conditions, pregnancy, longer life expectancy, and disparities in access to care. In addition, many women prioritize family and work responsibilities over their own health, often delaying preventive care. Cultural and social factors can further compound these vulnerabilities among Hispanic women.
Save Your Vision Month: Why Representation in Optometry Is Part of Protecting Sight
March 3, 2026
March is Save Your Vision Month, led by the American Optometric Association—an annual reminder of the importance of eye health, prevention, and routine care. It’s also an opportunity to reflect more broadly on what it takes to truly protect vision across all communities.
AMD Awareness Month: Moving Awareness into Action
February 2, 2026
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) remains a leading cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults in the United States. As the population ages and grows more diverse, optometrists play a critical role in early detection, patient education, and long-term management—especially for patients who may be less aware of chronic eye disease or less likely to seek regular eye care.
Glaucoma Awareness Month: Engaging Hispanic/Latino Patients in Early Detection and Ongoing Care
January 12, 2026
Glaucoma remains a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the United States, and its impact on Hispanic/Latino communities continues to grow. It is widely recognized that Black, Hispanic, and Asian Americans experience a higher prevalence of glaucoma compared with non-Hispanic White Americans, contributing to persistent disparities in diagnosis, disease severity at presentation, and visual outcomes.
Engaging With Your Audience on Social Media
December 16, 2025
Social media is the new word-of-mouth. It’s how patients find doctor recommendations, learn about eye care topics, and connect with their doctors. My social media handle, @tinyoptometrist, was suggested by a friend. Since I’m only five feet tall, it suits me well!
Social media content creation—mostly on Instagram, but also YouTube and TikTok—started out as a fun hobby and stress reliever for me when I was in optometry school. I posted about student challenges, my day-to-day experiences, and what I was learning. Over time, my followers came along with me on the journey through optometry school, and then into clinical practice.
Connecting Diabetes and Vision: How Optometrists Can Make a Difference for Hispanic Patients
November 17, 2025
Early in my career, I saw an elderly patient who made a big impression on me. This gentleman had come to the clinic for a regular checkup; he was already blind in one eye and only had about 30% of his vision remaining in the “good” eye, due to severe diabetic retinopathy. At the end of the exam, I took a few extra minutes to ask him how it was that he had lost so much vision and discovered that he had a very low level of understanding of the causes or management of diabetes.
Bridging the Language Gap in Eye Care: Choosing the Right Interpreter or Translation Service
October 15, 2025
In today’s diverse communities, language barriers can be one of the biggest challenges to delivering quality eye care. For optometrists, clear and accurate communication isn’t just courteous—it’s essential for safe, effective care. When patients understand their diagnosis, treatment plan, and follow-up instructions, outcomes improve, trust grows, and compliance increases.
For practices serving patients whose primary language is not English, partnering with a qualified translator or translation service can strengthen both the quality of care and patient satisfaction. Choosing the right approach depends on the patient’s language, the complexity of the visit, and the resources available.
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
September 8, 2025
Hispanic Heritage Month is recognized each year from September 15 to October 15. The month-long recognition of the contributions and influence of Hispanic and Latino history and culture in the United States is a chance for all Americans to enjoy the richness of Latino music and food, and for Latinas like me to celebrate and honor my roots. It is also an opportunity for eye care practices to reflect on how well they are serving Hispanic patients in their community. Across the country, there are now 68 million people of Hispanic origin, or 20% of the total U.S. population.1 Yet, this large slice of the population remains chronically underserved when it comes to eye care.
Diana Canto-Sims, OD
Co-Founder and Board Member, Latinos en Optometry
Recruitment and Retention: Strategies to Attract and Retain a Diverse Workforce
August 12, 2025
At their heart, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are aimed at making sure that we are creating a sustainable workforce that is going to meet the needs of the diverse communities where we all live and work. That’s a big task. For optometry schools, it means that in addition to our traditional curricula, we also have to make sure that we're infusing cultural awareness training into our education. For optometry practices, it means acknowledging the demographic shifts that are occurring in our communities, creating a workforce that's going to adequately meet community needs, and making sure that no group of patients gets left behind.
Ruth Shoge, OD, MPH, FAAO
A Matter of Interpretation
July 9, 2025
Language barriers present significant challenges for patients in their interactions with the health care system. Research conducted in hospital intensive care unit (ICU) and other critical care settings has shown that language barriers contribute to worse outcomes, including longer hospital stays and greater risk of dying in the ICU. Across many types of health care settings, access to professional interpreter services has a positive impact on quality of care and patient satisfaction.1,2 The federal government mandates that patients are entitled to a qualified professional interpreter during health care encounters. Despite this, such services are greatly underutilized, even in settings where interpreters are readily available.
Amelia K. Barwise, MB, BCh, PhD
Individualizing Optometry Care to all Patient Populations
June 10, 2025
There are so many ways in optometric practice that we customize treatment options to the patient’s age, disease severity, and ocular characteristics. Similarly, we also need to individualize care by adapting to our patients’ cultural and socioeconomic realities. The experience of providing care to immigrant and refugee communities in Houston, TX, Columbus, OH, and now in Baltimore, MD, has taught me some lessons that I try to bring into my practice to better serve and foster connections with all my patients:
Bryce St. Clair, OD, MPH
Prioritizing Eye Health Across Cultures
May 6, 2025
As we enter Healthy Vision Month, it is imperative to remember that eye diseases disproportionately affect minority populations, particularly African American and Hispanic communities. Glaucoma is about five times more common among African Americans, and blindness from glaucoma is six times more prevalent among this group.¹ Additionally, African American and Hispanic populations have approximately twice the rate of diabetes compared to non-Hispanic Whites.² Notably, the duration of diabetes is the strongest predictor for the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR).
Diana L. Shechtman, OD, FAAO
Preparing Future Optometrists to Practice in Global Society
April 8, 2025
The future is bright for optometry students. Several demographic trends are driving a greater need for eye care, including an aging U.S. population, a global myopia epidemic, and increased rates of eye conditions, such as diabetic eye disease and glaucoma. It is anticipated that the current supply of ophthalmologists is inadequate to meet the future demands for ophthalmic care,1 especially in rural areas. This is increasing the recognition of optometrists for their comprehensive training and capabilities in medical eye care and surgical co-management. It’s not surprising to me that our students at the New England College of Optometry (NECO) have an average of four to five job opportunities when they graduate.
Howard Purcell, OD, FAAO, President and CEO of New England College of Optometry (NECO).
Cultural Responsiveness in Practice
March 4, 2025
I’m excited to introduce a new monthly blog series, Cultural Responsiveness, developed in partnership between VSP Vision and Latinos en Optometry. This collaboration aims to foster a deeper understanding among both current and aspiring optometry professionals about the importance of delivering care that respects the cultural identity of their patients, acknowledges the socio-economic make-up of those seeking care, and ensures care management is taking place in an inclusive environment.
Marvin Davenport, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, VSP Vision