Healthy InSights® Informativo
Understanding Hispanic Vision

The American Optometric Association (AOA) and Transitions are partnering to support you with even more education and resources geared toward your Hispanic patients. In this issue of Healthy InSights Informativo, read about the AOA’s new Hispanic Vision Initiative — and the tools available to help you address this growing demographic in your practice.

Also in this issue, hear from Hector Santiago, O.D., Ph.D. — a speaker at the 2008 Optometry’s Meeting™ — for interesting information on how the concepts of time and space are likely to be different for your Hispanic patients, which may have an impact at the dispensary area or waiting room. Plus, find out about new Spanish-language point-of-sale materials available from Transitions.

As your Hispanic patients continue to look online for health-related information, learn about ways you can tap into this online trend and reach your patients through the World Wide Web. Finally, the number of Hispanic patients with diabetes is on the rise. Read about new, diabetes-focused education from Transitions to help you reach your patients about potential ocular side effects and ways to protect and preserve their healthy sight for a lifetime.

As always, thank you for reading. If there is something you would like to read more about, please e-mail us at healthyinsights@transitions.com.

Give Us Your Hispanic Patient Insights!

Transitions is developing new education for optometrists, and is looking for your insights! Do you have any stories about your experiences or challenges conducting eye exams with Hispanic patients? Please share your first-hand knowledge with us by sending an e-mail to to melissa.white@eurorscg.com or calling 412-456-4307.


Hispanic Vision Initiative Addresses Needs of Growing Hispanic Marketplace

AOA Partners With Transitions to Announce New Education and Resources

As diversity continues to play a larger role in the optical industry, it is becoming increasingly important for eyecare professionals to take into consideration the unique needs of cultural groups in order to remain competitive and attract customers. The Hispanic population has become the fastest-growing demographic group in the U.S. In fact, the AOA reports that more than 3,500 of its member practices are located in areas with significant numbers of Hispanic residents — reinforcing the need for education and resources targeting this group.

If you attended the AOA’s annual Optometry’s Meeting™, you may have heard about the Hispanic Vision Initiative — launched by the AOA to further support optometrists in meeting the needs of their Hispanic patients. Through the initiative, the AOA and Transitions are joining forces to deliver new communications tools and resources that focus on the unique needs of this segment population.

To support the initiative on an ongoing basis and pursue development of future resources, the AOA has assembled a project team that brings together the expertise of key AOA doctor members with thriving practices in Hispanic areas such as Miami, New York and Los Angeles, plus Transitions Optical’s expertise and one of the most respected PR agencies focused on the Hispanic population. Three main objectives of the Hispanic Vision Initiative are:

  • To help optometrists better serve the growing Hispanic population within the U.S.
  • To generate awareness among Hispanics that eye health care is important.
  • To help Hispanics better understand their eye health care risk factors.

As a first outcome of this partnership, your patients can now read about vision care in Spanish on the AOA Web site. There, they’ll find three consumer education sections that have been translated into Spanish, made possible through a grant from the Transitions Partners in Education™ program. In addition, a Patients Needs Survey to be administered by optometrists is in the works.

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Insights From the Experts: Hector Santiago, O.D., Ph.D.

Understanding Hispanic Culture

Believe it or not, sometimes the differences among cultures can be found in foundational concepts such as time and space. This is a point that Hector Santiago, O.D., Ph.D., made clear in the "Meeting the Needs of Your Hispanic Patients" COPE-approved course, which he presented during the 2008 Optometry’s Meeting™ in Seattle.

Let’s look at time. Hispanics are part of a multi-active culture. Members of multi-active cultures love multi-tasking. For example, they feel comfortable driving, while they talk on their cell phones and listen to their car radios. They also love to interact with others. A lot of your Hispanic patients may consider human transactions more important than following a schedule. Therefore, be flexible by planning to spend more time chatting about their families, occupation and hobbies.

Now, let's look at space. In general, once they know you, they feel comfortable getting closer as you speak to them. If you sit behind a desk, they may feel you are keeping them at a distance. It is important to recognize that when waiting in line, people of Hispanic origin tend to stand closer to one another and perhaps the queue will look more like a zigzag than a straight line.

On the other hand, the American culture is considered to be a linear-active culture — where tasks are done sequentially, with the perception that time is money and punctuality and order are more important. Understanding these differences can be extremely helpful when determining how to conduct an eye exam with a patient of Hispanic origin.

An additional interesting fact regarding the Hispanic culture that Dr. Santiago discussed was that most Hispanics are a mixture of ethnicities — a rainbow that encompasses the Spanish, Indian and African origins and traditions. From the Spanish, they derive the strong family ties and the concept of extended family. From the Indian, Hispanics draw the sense of compassion, the sense of fatalism, the use of herbs and the fear of the unknown. Finally, from the African, they derive the love of music and dance. By understanding Hispanics, you can be a more successful clinician and provider of services.

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Marketing Matters: Point-of-Sale Tips
and Tools

New Spanish-Language Resources From Transitions

Your Hispanic patients may speak either English or Spanish as their primary language — so it’s important to include Spanish-language or bilingual point-of-sale materials in your practice for those who feel more comfortable communicating in Spanish — and as a sign of respect for the Hispanic culture. Plus, displaying these materials in your office will serve as a way to welcome your Hispanic patients and encourage them to recommend your practice to their Spanish-speaking family members and friends.

Transitions offers a wealth of materials to help you reach your Hispanic patients. New posters and counter cards — updated with new, Hispanic lifestyle imagery — can be displayed in office to educate patients about the importance of healthy sight in every stage of life and the need for UV protection. Additionally, a window cling and wobbler are available to help reinforce the healthy sight message and encourage your patients to ask about Transitions® lenses. Finally, be sure to take advantage of a new lens demo card, which can be activated in UV light or by using the UV demonstration unit to show patients how Transitions lenses change form clear to dark in UV light.

To order these materials and learn about other Spanish-language resources available from Transitions, contact your local Transitions representative or call 800-848-1506.

Point-of-Sale Pointers

The Spanish-language materials you display in your practice can serve as a non-verbal icebreaker that will help establish a more comfortable atmosphere for your Hispanic patients.

  • Look for high-traffic areas to place materials for maximum visibility.
  • Encourage patients to read educational materials while they’re in the waiting room.
  • Proactively hand out materials to patients after their exam to take home. They may share them with their family and friends, who may turn into future patients.

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Tips and Trends: Hispanics Online

Hispanics Online to Reach 20 Million Mark This Decade

By the end of the decade, there will be more than 20 million Hispanic users online. Overcoming earlier challenges known as the "digital divide," Hispanics have rapidly embraced the Internet — especially those under age 35, which comprise approximately 58 percent of online Hispanic users today.1

This has large implications for retailers. According to a 2007 Jupiter Research report entitled "Hispanic Shoppers Online," Hispanic online spending will surpass all other groups and is expected to reach approximately $21 billion by 2011. Not only is the Hispanic population more likely than others to research products online, they are more likely to take advantage of Web sites with social shopping tools, such as rating and tagging items, and to post reviews or blog about products

Hispanics also look to the Net for vital information about healthcare. In fact, they get information about health-related issues more frequently than the online general population — with 61 percent of online Hispanics doing so either "regularly" or "occasionally" (versus 55 percent of the online general population).2

To better serve your Hispanic patients, consider posting Spanish-language information on your Web site. Also, if your Hispanic patients bring with them family members or friends — including teens or older children — let them know about your site or other relevant Web sites that can serve as a resource for vision care, even if the site is in English. Often, children are a key source of information for their Spanish-dominant parents and translate for them.

Spanish-Language Web Sites to Know:

AOA.org VisionSaludableparaTodalaVida.com
Aprendasobreanteojos.com YoNoSabiaEso.com
HispanicHealth.org Transitions.com/Es

1. Hispanic Youth Online Report, eMarketer 2006 2. AOL Roper U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy 2005

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ˇOjo! for Eye Health: Hispanics and Diabetes

New Education Available From Transitions

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately two million, or eight percent, of Hispanic adults have diabetes — making it one of the most serious health issues facing Hispanic patients in the United States.

Although diabetes largely affects the Hispanic population, an unconscious unawareness continues to grow in the Hispanic community. Fifty percent of Hispanic patients who have diabetes don’t know they have it. Because of this, eyecare professionals are often first to detect the disease through a comprehensive eye exam.

As you may know, people with diabetes are vulnerable to heightened damage from UV light, and also can experience reduced contrast sensitivity and increased susceptibility to glare. For this reason, the role of the eyecare professional is critical when recommending appropriate eyewear — such as UV-blocking photochromic or fixed-tint lenses with anti-reflective coatings.

Fast Fact: 50 percent of Hispanics who have diabetes don't know they have it.

While diabetes is getting more attention worldwide, public awareness of the disease’s effect on the eye is unfortunately low. A recent survey sponsored by Transitions reveals that:

  • Fifty percent of Americans identify vision problems as a side effect of diabetes.
  • Only 17 percent are aware that light sensitivity can be exacerbated by diabetes.
  • Thirty-seven percent do not report wearing eyewear that would protect them from sunlight, UV and glare outdoors.

Continuing to help you address the special eye health needs of your diabetic patients, Transitions has introduced a new education clinical paper, Healthy Sight Counseling: Diabetes and the Eye. More information can be found at transitions.com/diabetes.

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