Are Canadians Focused On Their Vision?

Toronto, ON - In lead up to World Sight Day this coming October 13th, Ipsos Reid, on behalf of the Canadian Association of Optometrists, conducted a national survey that asked on-line Canadians about their views on eye and vision care.

The survey revealed a strong majority of these Canadians (76%) rated their ability to see as something that is more important to them than their ability to walk (14%), talk (6%), hear (3%), or have natural teeth (2%). But despite the fact that they put such a high-value on their vision, only 35% say they have their eyes checked at least once a year. In fact, more Canadians say they have their vehicle (82%) or furnace (41%) inspected annually than say that they have a yearly check-up on their eyes.

And when considering from a long list or possible expenditures which ones they would be willing to pay around $100 for, if they had to pay for it themselves, many more on-line Canadians choose "dinner for two at a nice restaurant" (58%) or "tickets for a concert" (45%) than choose "a general eye-health examination from an optometrist" (30%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid on-line survey fielded from August 18th to August 23rd 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 865 adult on-line Canadians were interviewed. With a sample of this size, the aggregate results are considered accurate to within +/-3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult on-line Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within each sub-grouping of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.
By Far The Largest Percentage Of On-Line Canadians (76%) Value Their Ability To See Most - Much More Than Their Ability To Walk (14%), Talk (6%), Hear (3%) Or Their Natural Teeth (2%)...

When on-line Canadians are asked to choose from a list which natural ability they value most, 76% choose their "ability to see" - while much fewer choose their "ability to walk" (14%), "talk" (6%), "hear" (3%), or their "natural teeth" (2%).

• Residents of Quebec (87%) are the most likely to most value their ability see, followed by residents of Atlantic Canada (80%), and British Columbia (79%).

But Only 35% Get Their Eyes Checked Annually...

As part of the survey on-line Canadians were asked how often they have a series of different things checked to make sure they are in good working order and to help prevent future problems. When looking at which things they check at least once a year we see that:

• 82% get their "Vehicle" checked at least annually,
• 75% get their "general health" or "teeth" checked,
• Half (49%) get their financial investments checked,
• 41% get their furnace checked,
• 37% get their computer checked,
• 35% get their eyes checked, and
• 12% get their hearing checked.

Many Fewer Say They Would Spend $100 On An Eye-Health Exam (30%) Than Would For A Dinner For Two (58%) Or Concert Tickets (45%)...

More on-line Canadians say they would more willing to pay around $100, if they had to pay for it themselves, for a "dinner for two at a nice restaurant" (58%) or "tickets for a concert" (45%) than would be willing to pay this amount for "a general eye-health examination by an optometrist" (30%).
Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Paul Orovan
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900