Health Economics for Population Surveys

The Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) is a survey methodology that has been used for large population surveys for eye health in more than 380 surveys and 80 countries worldwide. It is the largest contributor to global estimates of sight loss and its causes.

We have developed a health economics module for use within the latest version of RAAB to estimate the productivity losses and affordability associated with eye health.

We started by reviewing tools for estimating labour metrics across organisations and consulting with key stakeholders in eye health and eye health economics. This informed the developed of a module within the survey tool that can record absenteeism, presenteeism, unpaid work, affordability, and quality of life for people being surveyed in a RAAB.

The module is currently being trialled and is expected to be released in the second half of 2025.

The aim is that this module will allow for comparative analysis of the employment status and health-related quality of life in people with and without vision impairment, and by severity of vision impairment.

This work will help to build a robust repository of data related to employment status and labour productivity in people with vision impairment, which will underpin more accurate estimates of economic productivity losses at the regional, national, and global level.