The incidence of eye injuries at three US Army installations

Studies addressing the impact of eye injuries on U.S. Army readiness and the effectiveness of countermeasures are lacking. In 1989, the U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency undertook a prospective, multicenter study of military units in the peacetime Army at selected installations to define the incidence of eye injuries, assess associated variables, and identify targets for intervention. During the first 5 months of 1989 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and Fort Lewis, Washington, health care providers saw 103 new eye injuries with an overall rate of 14.18 injuries per 1,000 personnel annually. Almost one-half of the injuries (48 cases, 46.60%) occurred during on-duty work and training. Most (93 cases, 90.29%) of the soldiers were not wearing eye protection when injured. This study identifies possible targets for intervention and provides a baseline against which the interventions of the last decade may be assessed for effectiveness.