Psychosocial determinants associated with quality of life in people with usher syndrome. A scoping review.

Background: In Usher syndrome, deafness is congenital and blindness is acquired. Therefore, the progressive loss of one of the two senses forces individuals with this syndrome to reorganize their everyday tasks and relationships, creating new strategies to communicate, access information, and move within a given space. This reorganization can interfere with the subjects' capacity to build a good quality of life.Methods: We conducted a scoping review of both peer-reviewed and gray literature, to identify existing evidence of the role of psychosocial determinants on the quality of life of people with Usher syndrome.Results: Twenty-one references met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that people with Usher syndrome seem to adjust their life habits to their condition, maintaining hope for the future, and believe in their capacities to accomplish their goals in spite of the various difficulties they encounter. However, this scoping review highlights a lack of research on adaptive strategies, as well as a lack of knowledge concerning the integration of the syndrome in one's identity, the relations to caregivers, and the specificities of the psychotherapeutic support. More information on these topics would enable better-adjusted social, psychotherapeutic, and medical responses.Implications for rehabilitationUsher syndrome, a rare genetic disease, leads to deafblindness, a cluster of related multiple sensory disabilities. People with Usher encounter several obstacles in their daily life. It is also difficult to adapt to the progressive loss of hearing and sight.This paper proposes a scoping review: we identify the main adaptation strategies used by people with Usher Syndrome in order to become autonomous in spite of these obstacles. In becoming more autonomous, they come to a better quality of life.We summarize the most frequent adaptation strategies (at school, work, leisure, interpersonal relationships, etc.) to help programs aimed at rehabilitation for people with Usher syndrome, and to find unexplored research perspectives (e.g., psychotherapies).

Impact of Retinitis Pigmentosa on Quality of Life, Mental Health, and Employment Among Young Adults.

PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between visual function and quality of life, education, mental health, and employment among young adults with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: Inclusion of 148 patients (mean age 38.2 ± 7.1 years) diagnosed with RP, living in France. Quality of life was assessed using the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25), mental state with the Hospital and Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and employment with a specifically designed questionnaire. RESULTS: Limited visual impairment was noted in 22.3%, low vision in 29.7%, and legal blindness in 48.0%. There was a correlation between quality-of-life scores and residual visual field (P < .0001). Mental health scores were suggestive of anxiety in 36.5% and depression in 15.5%. The rates did not increase with disability level (P = .738, P = .134). The percentage of subjects with higher education did not significantly decrease with disability level (P = .113). The employment rate did not significantly decrease with disability level (P = .276). It was lower in subjects reporting depression (P = .0414). Self-rated impact of RP on employment increased with disability level (P = .02642). CONCLUSIONS: Our results differ from previous results showing lower education rates and employment rates in young adults with RP. Further research is warranted focusing on the impact of mental health, education, workplace conditions, and employment aids on employment rate vs age- and education-matched normally sighted controls to guide visual disability strategies in RP.