The focus of this project is to increase access to image based education resources for Indigenous patients in remote communities across Australia. These resources will be used by eye health and vision care service providers in their consultations with patients to explain eye examination procedures and important eye conditions. An Eye Health Demonstration Grant has been received from the AustralianGovernment Department of Health and Ageing by ICEE to fund this project.

Professor Brian Layland, ICEE Director of Aboriginal Programmes, emphasised the importance of the grant in expanding the work of ICEE in Australia. “This funding will now allow us to improve awareness and accessibility to quality eye health and vision care for Indigenous communities in remote areas," he said.
The resources will be developed by ICEE working closely with a Project Advisory Group including representatives from eye health and Aboriginal health bodies. Resources will focus on prioritised eye health and vision care issues.

The grant will allow ICEE to build on its previous successes in developing and up-skilling Aboriginal Eye Health Coordinators (AEHCs) and Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) in the Northern Territory, made possible by an earlier Eye Health Demonstration Grant approved in September last year.

Tricia Keys, ICEE Project Manager Aboriginal Eye Care, explained the importance of the new grant. “Aboriginal people in remote areas of Australia will now have better access to eye care and eye care education”, she said. “Importantly, this grant will allow us to build on the work begun through the first Eye Health Demonstration Grant and links in beautifully with ICEE plans to employ a full-time optometrist to provide outreach clinical services and support Aboriginal Education projects in the Northern Territory”.