Nine in Ten (87%) of Ontarians Believe Vision Is Important in Development and Early Learning of Children

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a new study conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of the Ontario Association of Optometrists, nine in ten (87%) adult Ontarians believe vision is "very important" in the development and early learning of a child with a further 12% who feel it is "somewhat important."

In addition, 86% agree that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall (60% "strongly agree" and 26% "somewhat agree").

Of those who disagree that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall (13% of Ontarians), were informed that "OHIP covers the cost of an annual eye examination for children 19 years of age and under and that mandatory eye examinations are no longer performed." Having learned this, 35% of this group now agrees that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall.

Those who still did not agree (9% of Ontarians) were then informed that "one child in six suffers from a vision problem serious enough to impact their learning and development and that 80% of a child's early learning is done through their eyes." Having learned this, 26% now agree that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall.

When combined, 94% in total of adult Ontarians agree that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Ontario Association of Optometrists between August 11th and 17th, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Ontarians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adult Ontarians been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age composition reflects that of the actual population according to the 2001 Census data.

Almost all adult Ontarians (98%) believe vision is important in the development and early learning of a child, with 87% who think it is "very important."

• There are no statistically significant socio-demographic differences regarding who considers vision to be important in the development and early learning of a child.

Nine in ten (86%) agree that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall (60% "strongly agree" and 26% "somewhat agree"). The remaining 13% disagree (9% "somewhat disagree," 4% "strongly disagree") with the statement.

• Parents of children who are not yet in school (91%), women (89%), and individuals without a university degree (89%) are most likely to agree that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall.

Those who disagree all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall (13% of Ontarians), were informed that "OHIP covers the cost of an annual eye examination for children 19 years of age and under and that mandatory eye examinations are no longer performed." Having learned this, 35% of this group now agree that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall.

• There are no statistically significant socio-demographic findings for this question.

Those who still did not agree (9% of Ontarians) were informed that "one child in six suffers from a vision problem serious enough to impact their learning and development and that 80% of a child's early learning is done through their eyes." Having learned this, 26% of this group now agree that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall.

• There are no statistically significant socio-demographic findings for this question.

When combined, 94% in total of adult Ontarians agree that all children should have an eye examination before starting school each fall.

Please open the attached PDF files to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900