01 October 2015
According to early indications, this year's National Eye Health Week (NEHW) was the most successful to date, the organisers have said.
Hosted for a sixth consecutive year earlier this month (21–27 September), the campaign aims to encourage people to have an awareness of the importance of eye health and how lifestyle habits can affect it. More than 2,500 opticians, pharmacies, GPs, charities, schools and businesses took part in the initiative.
While organisers are in the process of completing a full evaluation of the week, it is believed that the campaign will have been successful in communicating important eye health messages to millions of people across the UK, with a social media campaign reaching in excess of 25 million individuals.
Chair of NEHW, optometrist David Cartwright, said: "Press cuttings are still coming in in their droves, but some highlights include coverage on ITV's Good Morning Britain and the Chris Evans Breakfast Show, as well as stories in every national daily newspaper."
He added: "This media activity highlighted to a mass audience the importance of having regular sight tests and how lifestyle choices can affect eye health, whilst events and activities hosted by our amazing network of supporters provided local communities up and down the country with individual eye care advice and information."
For more information about the week visit the initiative's website.