Large-scale social surveys of visually impaired people often explore participants' mobility and travel behaviour. What is methodologically more challenging is gathering participant-centred data in relation to their own interpretation of the barriers they face. Findings from a national survey of visually impaired people are presented in this…

Introduction: The pilot study reported here determined the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary group rehabilitation program, Visually Impaired Elderly Persons Participating (VIPP), on psychosocial functioning. Methods: The single-group pretest-posttest pilot study included 29 persons with visual impairments (aged 55 and older) who were referred…

Closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) are used by many elderly people who have age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The functional vision of 68 participants, which was measured immediately after they adopted CCTVs, suggested successful outcomes, but the psychosocial impact of the use of CCTVs did not peak until a month later. The findings help…

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in the United States for persons aged 60 and older. Compared to individuals without disabilities, individuals with low vision demonstrate a 15% to 30% higher dependence on others to perform activities of daily living. In addition, low vision can adversely affect a person's quality of life.…

One of the most prevalent visual impairments of people aged 60 and older is age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which ranks third globally as a cause of visual impairment (World Health Organization, 2006). The purpose of this study was to conduct a tentative subjective assessment of eccentric viewing by persons with AMD. The authors recruited…

Twenty-five older adults with age-related macular degeneration were separated into one of three groups: in-clinic training, take-home-training, or no-training. After testing, results showed that the ability to distinguish figure from ground is an improvable skill with the take-home group improving the most. (Author/DB)

In the study, eight random samples of respondents (236 adult Ss) from a small Western city were presented with questionnaires which requested that they evaluate the characteristics of a stimulus person who varied by sightedness (blind, totally sightless, partially sighted, sighted), and age (35 or 65 years). (Author/SBH)

This project examined whether the rehabilitation of reading recognition allowed comprehension of print for 38 low vision adults (ages 37-87) who were former readers. The project developed training strategies for enhancing reading comprehension. The paper concludes that instruction in comprehension has value as part of low vision rehabilitation for…

This study evaluated the effects of perceptual training and psychological counseling on adjustment to vision loss in 49 elderly persons (mean age 70) with low vision. Overall, both interventions improved the participants' visual functioning and beliefs about the loss of vision, and follow-up interviews revealed that these improvements were…

A survey of 6,850 adults age 40 or over concerning the effects of poor vision found that difficulties with reading or other near-vision activities were the most common complaint. One-fourth reported limitations in activities because of poor vision. Factors associated with loss of visual function were general health status, educational level, and…

Semi-structured interviews and objective measures were used to examine psychological, behavioral, and visual factors contributing to satisfactory rehabilitation for 14 partially sighted older adults and a control group. Correlates of the successful use of low-vision aids included emotional and practical support as well as past use of near vision.…