The initiative for the ICEE Aboriginal Eye Care programme was born in November 1999. Research figures showed at the time that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders had poor access to eye care services, and even those people who had access were reluctant to go for an eye examination as the facilities were largely provided by mainstream hospitals and private optometrists. Estimates showed approximately 220 000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were either blind or visually impaired as a result of uncorrected refractive error (the need for glasses).

ICEE believed it was important to focus on increasing access to eye care services and raising awareness of the need for eye care in the Indigenous communities. By developing a programme with the emphasis on culturally appropriate services which would be better accepted in the community, ICEE aimed to help close the gap between eye care access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians.

Estimates show 50% of blindness and 70% of vision impairment in Indigenous people is caused by conditions that are preventable or easily treated. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders suffer up to 6 times the level of blindness from preventable eye disease than non-aboriginals. Research figures show, proportionally less Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders visit eye care practitioners for regular eye examination than other Australians.

The ICEE Aboriginal Eyecare Programme commenced in New South Wales (NSW) in 1999 and the current programme Northern Territory (NT) in 2006. The programme recommenced in the Northern Territory upon direct invitation from the Barkley Regional Eye Health Coordinator.

Since commencement of both programmes, ICEE has since established 111 eye clinics in remote and regional locations in NSW and 56 in the Northern Territory. Funding from the Australian Government Visiting Optometrists Scheme continues to support the NT and 37 locations in NSW.

The key to the success of both programmes is due to cooperation and support through several partnerships. This involves working with the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC), the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS), the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT) and the Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS). ICEE staff optometrists work alongside Regional Eye Health Coordinators and Aboriginal Eye Health Workers to facilitate the service delivery to the local communities and also in outreach trips to more remote locations.

These partnerships have ensured programmes are developed in accordance with community needs and cultural sensitivities. It has also involved the harnessing of a number of state, federal, community and professional organisations and individuals. This has provided efficiencies in service and resource provision, essential to the sustainability of the programme.

To date optometrists working through the ICEE programme have conducted over 35 000 eye examinations in NSW and over 7500 in the Northern Territory. During this time over 30 000 spectacles have been provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in these locations, making significant progress for the eye health of Indigenous Australians.

Since 2000, ICEE has conducted a yearly one week education programme for Eye Health Workers in Sydney, funded by the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, NSW. The health workers are educated on how to run an eye clinic, perform eye screenings and fit spectacles. Equipped with these skills health workers are able to return to their communities, create awareness of eye and vision problems, the need for regular eye examinations, provide vision screenings at preschools, kindergartens, elders centres and arrange for special cases to be examined by the optometrist at the next eye clinic within the ACCHS.

In 2009, ICEE developed a colourful image-based eye health and vision care resource package, specifically for use by rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health centres. The 'I See for Culture' kits were designed and produced by ICEE in collaboration with other eye care and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organizations and funded by the Commonwealth Government's Department of Health and Ageing. Initially 150 were distributed, however due to overwhelming demand and further funding, ICEE produced 1000 more in 2011.

Through a new intuitive in 2010, ICEE introduced a portable training resource that provides visiting optometrists with the material to deliver in-service tutorials on a range of eye related topics to remotely located primary health care workers. The number of topics for which training packages are available continues to grow each year. Since then, the programme has continually expanded, now operating in all five regions of the NT to service more than 50 locations.

Funders:

• Brien Holden Vision Institute
• Commonwealth Government Department of Health & Ageing (DOHA)
• Centre for Remote Health
• O ffice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
• Northern Territory Government Department of Health
• Federal Government (Medicare)
  

Partners:

• Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC)
• Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS)
• Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT)
• Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS)
• Danila Dilba Health Service (ICEE Darwin office site)
• Local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• Local optometrists
• NSW Government's Rural Aerial Health Services and the Royal Flying Doctors (RFDS)
• NSW Government, Department of Human Services (Visioncare)