Consumer research shows women are skipping eye tests

Research commissioned by Specsavers1 has revealed that 91% of Australian women admit to having experienced eye problems but nearly a quarter (23%) said they didn’t see an optometrist or a healthcare professional for the issue and just waited for it to go away on its own.  

On top of this, an equivalent of more than 2 million Australian women can’t recall the last time they had their eyes checked. 

Additional data sourced from Specsavers stores across Australia reveals that more than three quarters of female patients take longer than two months to get their eyes tested after receiving a reminder2

The research also uncovered that those with private health insurance (41%) were more likely to book an appointment to see an Optometrist or health professional for an eye issue within 1‑6 days of the issue arising, compared to those without insurance (33%). 

Specsavers Optometrist, Michelle Phan says women need to start prioritising routine eye tests. 

“The research has found a possible problematic misconception that you need to have private health insurance to book in an eye test – which is just not true. At Specsavers, eye tests are bulk billed for everyone with a valid Medicare card. We encourage anyone who is experiencing issues with their eye health to come in and speak to us sooner rather than later,” says Michelle. 

Other key findings from the research included: 

  • The equivalent of more than 2 million Australian women cannot recall the last time they had their eyes checked (14%) or have never had had their eyes checked (6%) with it being more prevalent among Gen Z (31%), Millennials (29%) and Gen X (23%) rather than Baby Boomers (6%). 

  • The top two most common triggers for women to have their eyes checked are a reminder from the optometrist/health care professional (31%) and when it’s been at least two years since their last check‑up (30%). 

  • Gen Z are twice as likely as Baby Boomers (32% vs 15%) to say they did not visit an optometrist or a health professional for their eye issue and just waited for the issue to go away by itself. 

  • More than four in five women (83%) admit that they’ve cancelled or postponed a medical appointment due to conflicting priorities. The main reasons women cancel or postpone medical appointments include prioritising work (32%) simply running out of time (26%) or particularly for mothers, prioritising the needs of their children over their own (49%). 

  • Around one in ten women (13%) cancel health appointments frequently or all the time, a quarter (26%) cancel occasionally, and 44% cancel rarely. 

    

  1. YouGov 2022. This study consisted of an online survey conducted between 23 – 27 August 2022. Commissioned by Specsavers Australia and undertaken by YouGov. The sample comprised of a nationally representative sample of 1,021 women aged 18 years and older. 

  2. Specsavers internal data: July 2021‑June 2022