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Cohort studyJournal of AAPOS : the official publication of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus · 2026

Bridging the gap: socioeconomic disparities in pediatric vision referrals from the UCSD EyeMobile Program.

Naren Ramesh, Akshara R Legala, Rachel Lee … Iliana Molina

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OphthalmologyCohort study

Black children had significantly higher odds of pediatric ophthalmology referral.

Bridging the gap: socioeconomic disparities in pediatric vision referrals from the UCSD EyeMobile Program.

Naren Ramesh et al. · Journal of AAPOS : the official publication of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus · 2026

Purpose

To evaluate demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with pediatric ophthalmology referrals from the UC San Diego (UCSD) EyeMobile, a school-based mobile vision program.

Methods

The records of children screened from 2021 to 2025 were reviewed retrospectively.

n = 42,166 children

OR = 2.30

Results

Black children had significantly higher odds of needing an eye specialist than White children

n = 42,166 children

More results

Of 42,166 children screened during the study period, 5,657 (14.1%) received a comprehensive examination, and 217 (0.51%) were referred to an ophthalmologist.

Leading reasons for reasons included significant refractive errors (39.2%), strabismus (18.4%), and suspicion for keratoconus (14.3%).

More results

Referral rates were 0.69% in Very Low COI areas and 0.34% in Very High COI areas.

There was a 7.6% reduced odds of referral per 10-point increase in COI (OR = 0.934, P = 0.033).

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Lower socioeconomic status and minority race/ethnicity were independently linked to higher odds of pediatric ophthalmology referral, highlighting the disproportionate disease burden in underserved groups.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

Mobile screening programs may help with timely identification of at-risk children and improve health equity.

Post

Bridging the gap: socioeconomic disparities in pediatric vision referrals from the UCSD EyeMobile Program.

Black children had significantly higher odds of pediatric ophthalmology referral.

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