Can visual impairment impact your income potential?

People's quality of life (QOL) has been disrupted globally in the wake of the pandemic in recent times. This was mainly due to global economic crises fuelled by the coronavirus (COVID- 19) and other related factors. Sri Lanka, too, was facing major social and economic constraints in the period 2021-2022. Thus, all communities islandwide have been economically disturbed. Among others, people with Visual Impairment and Blindness (VIB) have been pushed to severely disadvantageous positions, financially and otherwise. A sample from three geographical locations in Sri Lanka; and eleven individuals representing diverse cadres in Sri Lankan society were purposively selected for the study based on the existence of the majority of the visually impaired community using a mixed approach. Descriptive statistics were utilised to analyse the identified socio-economic characteristics. Ordered probit regression was employed to determine the mediating effect of socio-economic status on income levels. Word Cloud illustrates the factors affecting the QOL. Most severely impaired individuals are more likely to earn a lower rate of income. This situation has degraded their lives and poor QOL. Participants' responses elucidate that facilities, resources, education, opportunities, income, employment, and government activities would enhance their QOL. The study adds value to society by recognising VIB people, helping them gain financial independence and strengthening them without marginalising the impaired community. The proposed policies in this study would be valuable for these social groups to address their wealth concerns.

A nightmare in a ‘darker’ world: persons with blindness under the Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 shutdown

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted all wakes of lives in many countries including Sri Lanka, an island nation in the South Asian region. Among severely hit community groups due to COVID-19 have been the persons with visual impairment and blindness, who represent the majority of disabled people. Taking into consideration that the persons with disabilities generally fall into poverty-stricken cluster of the population and Sri Lanka has been passing turbulent times even prior to COVID-19, this paper argues that the people with visual impairment and blindness have been pushed from bad to worse, due to the shocks of COVID-19 strike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Disability & Society is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)