ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Functional limitation because of visual impairment is one of the most important measures of low vision rehabilitation outcome because it represents the true impact of visual impairment upon the daily lives of individuals. The Low Vision Functional Status Evaluation (LVFSE) was designed to evaluate functional limitation because of visual impairment using both observed and self-reported performance on daily activities. METHODS: Performance on 27 daily activities was evaluated for 155 visually impaired subjects. Subjects also provided ratings of task difficulty. RESULTS: Correlations between observed performance and visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and visual field loss severity were moderate, r = -0.60 to r = 0.34. Correlations between self-reported task performance difficulty and measures of visual clinical state were weaker, r = -0.44 to r = 0.21. CONCLUSIONS: The LVFSE shows promise as a sensitive measure of low vision-related functional status but more work is needed to refine the measure.
Subject(s)
Health Status Indicators , Vision Tests/methods , Vision, Low/diagnosis , Activities of Daily Living , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Disability Evaluation , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , Vision, Low/physiopathology , Visual Acuity/physiology , Visual Fields/physiologyABSTRACT
An evaluation of the reliability and relation to clinical state of a measure of low vision patient functional status was conducted. The measure included discrete tasks aggregated into three different areas: identifying objects, reading, and daily/leisure activities. Data were obtained retrospectively from case records of 247 low vision patients and 144 complete cases were used for statistical analyses. Evidence of reliability was found with coefficient alpha scores for the three areas ranging from 0.90 to 0.96. Significant relations between functional status and clinical states (acuity, contrast sensitivity, and visual field) were found with R2 values ranging from 0.39 to 0.58, p less than 0.001.
Subject(s)
Vision, Low/diagnosis , Activities of Daily Living , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Contrast Sensitivity , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reading , Reproducibility of Results , Retrospective Studies , Sensory Aids , Surveys and Questionnaires , Visual Acuity , Visual FieldsABSTRACT
A cooperative Optometry Residency in Low Vision Rehabilitation has been established by the Optometry Sections at Hines Veterans Administration Hospital, Westside Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Illinois College of Optometry. The objective of this program is to train optometrists to function within, develop and direct clinical low vision programs in multidisciplinary settings. This optometry residency is unique in that it provides experience in delivering clinical low vision services in both inpatient and outpatient settings for patients of all ages during all stages of the clinical course of their disease, treatment and rehabilitation. Clinical rotations include the Optometry Section at the Central Blind Rehabilitation Center, the Chicago VICTORS Program, the Low Vision Clinic and affiliated Low Vision Clinics of the Illinois College of Optometry.