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| Authors | E Hattat P Ferry |
| Abstract | Background: Visual impairment in old age is a major health problem that affects an increasing number of older people. As most of the common eye problems progress over time, older people might adapt to these conditions and may not be fully aware of their visual loss. Until the cumulative effects of the visual impairments result in the loss of physical, social and psychological functioning, most of the visual impairments may thus remain undiagnosed. Aim: To test the awareness levels of degree of visual loss of older inpatients in an assessment and rehabilitation geriatric hospital. Methods: In this semi-qualitative study, 10 patients, chosen on a random basis from English-speaking individuals with an abbreviated mental score higher than 6, were assessed with the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25) and the Snellen distance visual acuity chart between 6th March 2006 and 1st April in Zammit Clapp Hospital, Malta. The VFQ-25 results were averaged on the sub-scales of general health, general vision, ocular pain, near activities, distance activities, social functioning, mental health, role difficulties, dependency, colour vision and peripheral vision. Both the VFQ-25 results and the Snellen Chart results were classified as poor, moderate and good functioning. The overall VFQ-25 results were then compared to the results of the Snellen Chart with chi-squared teSt Results: The comparison of the VFQ-25 results and the Snellen Chart results showed an evidence of significant difference between these scores. Comparison of general vision sub-scales with the near activity, social functioning, role difficulty and dependency sub-scales did not show any evidence of significant difference. Conclusion: This study showed that older inpatients were not aware of their visual problems although they experienced functional problems. This finding is especially important in adapting screening tests for visual impairment in older people. |
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| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | 15 Issue 1-2/suppl. 2003 |
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| Key words | older people, perception, visual impairment |