Challenges faced by visually disabled people in use of medicines, self-adopted coping strategies and medicine-related mishaps.

Background: Difficulties faced by visually disabled people when using medicines, self-adopted coping strategies, and medicine-related mishaps have been under-explored locally and internationally. The objective of this study was to gain insight regarding this long-neglected issue. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study, using an interviewer administered questionnaire on 63 visually disabled adults was carried out at a vocational training centre and a school for visually disabled students in Sri Lanka. Results: Among 63 participants, 71% wanted to be independent in medicine use and 79% in spite of difficulties had self-administered medicines. They had difficulty in locating medicines (25.39%), identifying medicines and medicine containers (17.46%), and administering liquid medications (25.39%). These difficulties led to inaccurate dosing (14.28%), missed doses (39.68%), and discontinuation of treatment prematurely (28.57%). Self-adopted coping strategies to overcome these difficulties included using different sized and shaped containers, tying medicines to the attire, and dipping their finger into a measuring cup while measuring liquid medicines. Mishaps related to medicines such as taking vinegar instead of gripe mixture and, putting ear drops into eyes were disclosed. Conclusions: There were many challenges for visually disabled people in taking medicines and some self-adopted coping strategies were inadequate to overcome these.

Dispositivo tecnológico para la optimización del tiempo de aprendizaje del lenguaje Braille en personas invidentes / A technological device for optimizing the time taken for blind people to learn Braille

Objetivo El objetivo de este proyecto es diseñar e implementar un prototipo electrónico, que permita mejorar los tiempos de aprendizaje inicial de la escritura Braille en personas con situación de discapacidad visual especialmente en niños. Métodos El desarrollo de este proyecto, se basa fundamentalmente en un prototipo electrónico digital, el cual después de realizar la escritura por parte del usuario, identifica y hace una traducción del Braille por medio de un sistema de síntesis de voz que genera las palabras de manera artificial con el objeto de verificar si la escritura en Braille es o no correcta. Adicional a esto se implementa un módulo GSM, el cual permite enviar mensajes de texto desde el dispositivo, presentando una innovación en el campo de los artículos para personas discapacitadas visualmente. Resultados El principal resultado obtenido en este proyecto es un prototipo electrónico de fácil acceso y comprensión el cual permite mejorar los tiempos en el aprendizaje inicial de escritura Braille. Conclusiones Se logró reducir significativamente los tiempos de aprendizaje del lenguaje Braille por parte de personas en situación de discapacidad visual e incrementar su interés y tiempo de concentración en dicho aprendizaje.

Objective This project was aimed at designing and putting an electronic prototype into practice for improving the initial time taken by visually handicapped people for learning Braille, especially children. Methods This project was mainly based on a prototype digital electronic device which identifies and translates material written by a user in Braille by a voice synthesis system, producing artificial words to determine whether a handicapped person's writing in Braille has been correct. A global system for mobile communications (GSM) module was also incorporated into the device which allowed it to send text messages, thereby involving innovation in the field of articles for aiding visually handicapped people. Results This project's main result was an easily accessed and understandable prototype device which improved visually handicapped people's initial learning of Braille. Conclusions The time taken for visually handicapped people to learn Braille became significantly reduced whilst their interest increased, as did their concentration time regarding such learning.

Desenvolvimento de conceitos em cegos congênitos: caminhos de aquisição do conhecimento / Concept development in congenital blinds: means for knowledge acquisition

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar o desenvolvimento de conceitos por cegos congênitos. Participaram sete cegos congênitos, de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 8 e 13 anos. Foi solicitado aos participantes que definissem 15 conceitos, subdivididos em concretos e abstratos. As respostas foram agrupadas em 13 categorias. Verificou-se que cada tipo de conceito envolve formas diferenciadas de definição e de utilização de recursos perceptivos. Foram identificados alguns meios utilizados pelo cego congênito na aquisição do conhecimento, evidenciando a multiplicidade de possibilidades de aquisição e expressão de conceitos. As implicações deste trabalho para o processo de ensino/aprendizagem de cegos foram consideradas.

The purpose of this research was to study the development of concepts by congenital blinds. The subjects were seven congenital blinds, of both sexes, aged from 8 to 13 years. The subjects were asked to define 15 concepts, subdivided into concrete and abstract ones. The responses were grouped in 13 categories. Several ways employed by blinds to the acquisition of knowledge were identified, showing the variety of possibilities in the acquisition and expression of concepts. The implications of these results to the teaching and learning of blinds were considered.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar el desarrollo de conceptos por ciegos congénitos. Participaron siete ciegos congénitos de ambos sexos, con edades entre 8 y 13 años. A los participantes les fue solicitado que definiesen 15 conceptos, subdivididos en concretos y abstractos. Las respuestas fueron agrupadas en 13 categorías. Se verificó que cada tipo de concepto abarca varias formas diferenciadas de definición y de utilización de recursos perceptivos. Fueron identificados algunos medios utilizados por el ciego congénito en la adquisición del conocimiento, evidenciando la multiplicidad de posibilidades de adquisición y expresión de conceptos. Las implicaciones de este trabajo para el proceso de enseñanza/aprendizaje de ciegos fueron consideradas.